


remains

by tol_sirion



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempted Murder, Blink And You Miss It Slash, Descriptions of murder, Gen, Ghosts, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Minor Minsung, Mystery, Suspense, descriptions of violence, hyunjin and chan are human, minor chanjin, minor chanlix, the rest are ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 50,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27898495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tol_sirion/pseuds/tol_sirion
Summary: Visiting his grandmother for a month is supposed to mean four weeks of nothing. Four weeks of time spent away from the things happening at home, trying to forget. It's not supposed to mean being haunted by the ghosts of six boys who inadvertedly turn his life upside down. Now he has to try and figure out what happened to them, all while forming a new friendship and trying to grow close to a part of his family who he barely knows.Hyunjin manages. At least for a little while.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 33





	remains

**Author's Note:**

> phew! where to begin? this was written for nano 2020, which is the second time i've attempted it and the first time i've managed to complete the goal. i'm really proud and happy. i've never written a story this long before and i am so, so nervous, but i'm also really excited about it! writing it was a lot of fun and i've debated on and off whether to publish it or not, but i finally figured, why not? the title is based on bastille's _remains_ , which i felt was a very fitting song to go with the general theme of this fic.
> 
> please read the tags carefully. i didn't tag for major character death, because six of skz are already dead and i felt like it didn't really fit since they're still major parts of the story. if you feel this is incorrect, do let me know. the same goes if you feel any other tag is missing. any mistake in the story is all mine, as this is not beta read. the story is sometimes intended to be vague, but if it gets unnecessarily confusing then please let me know about it!
> 
> thank you vienna, for encouraging me to participate and give it a go ❤

The train pulls into the station and stops with the loud blaring of a horn, and Hyunjin pushes the button for the door to open and steps out into the sunshine.

The cold immediately seeps through his jacket and he shivers, setting his suitcase down so he can look around. The station seems virtually empty. It only consists of a platform and two train tracks on each side, so it isn’t surprising that no one would spend much time there. There doesn’t even seem to be a ticket booth. There is a roof to give some shelter, as well as some benches, but that’s it.

The train pulls away behind him, and he turns to watch it until it disappears around a bend with another loud call of the horn, and then he squints up at the sign tacked onto the roof.

_Jeongseon station._

Right. At least he’s in the right place.

He has to take his phone out of his pocket and opens the text from his mom. His grandmother doesn’t drive a car, but buses should run from the station and into the town. Hyunjin had tried to look up a timetable, but the internet connection had been pretty bad and there hadn’t really seemed to be a timetable in the first place.

He winds up sitting down on a bench, trying not to feel nervous and frustrated. He fails on both parts. Maybe the buses run only once a day, or something. He could start walking, but he doesn’t know the way, and trying to load up a map only ends up with a spinning wheel and a blank page.

He knows he’s outside of immediate civilization, but come on. He should have prepared better, but he had spent the last couple of days hanging out with some friends before they head off to college and he doesn’t. Finding out how to get from point A to point B has been the last thing on his mind.

Hyunjin sighs and shoves both hands into his pockets, kicking his feet. The sun is barely peeking out from the clouds, and it’s colder than he expected. It’s only the beginning of August, but around him it already looks like they’re near winter. The trees are turning yellow and there are brown leaves on the station floor.

Back in Seoul he would probably be out in shorts and a t-shirt at this point. At least the weather suits his mood.

The honking of a horn startles him and he jumps with a gasp, twisting in his seat. There’s a car on the road leading to the station, across one of the tracks. A guy leans out of the front door window and waves at him.

“Hwang Hyunjin?” he shouts.

Hyunjin quickly gets up from the bench and grabs his suitcase, crossing the track. The guy hops out, shutting the door behind him. He smiles, eyes turning into crescents, a dimple in place. Black curls hang into his eyes, and he swipes them from his face.

“Hey,” he greets, already taking the suitcase from him and lifting it up onto the back of the truck. “Your grandmother sent me to get you. Well, she told me you were coming, so I offered to pick you up.”

He turns around and wipes his hands on his jeans, holding one out.

“I’m Bang Chan.”

“Hwang Hyunjin.” Hyunjin manages, quickly taking his hand. “Uh. Who are you?”

Chan frowns. “I’m Bang Chan…?” he repeats slowly.

God, he probably thinks Hyunjin is a bit slow, or something. Hyunjin is already cringing at the first impression he must be making.

“No, I got that. I meant… who are you in relation to my grandmother?”

“Oh!”

Chan grins, then waves at the car. “Come on, get in. I’ll tell you all about it.”

Hyunjin climbs into the car and Chan does the same, turning it around and driving down the gravel road.

“Right. So I help your grandmother with her shopping and sometimes her finances. She used to watch me when I was a kid, so I wanted to repay the favor when I got old enough and she needed some help. Since she doesn’t really have anyone else around here. I mean, there’s plenty of neighbors and people she knows in town, but not many who are able to help her out.”

“Oh.”

Hyunjin doesn’t know what to say. He hasn’t seen his grandmother in years, and Chan probably isn’t _trying_ to guilt trip him, but that’s what it feels like, anyway.

Chan glances at him, but Hyunjin keeps his focus on the scenery outside the window. There are a lot of fields, and not much else to hold his attention, but he can pretend to be interested.

“I’m sorry,” Chan says eventually. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, or anything. I know your family lives far away.”

“Yeah.” Hyunjin swallows and tries to pull himself together. He isn’t about to tell Chan all about how his mom doesn’t want to see his grandmother at all, but he can at least try to be less of an ass. “Look, it’s alright. I’m happy she has someone to look after her.”

“She’s very sweet.” Chan says, and that’s that.

They remain silent for the rest of the way, which feels like it takes ages. Hyunjin is admittedly bored, listening to Chan tap his fingers against the steering wheel, following the beat coming from the radio. It’s staticky at best, and just for a moment, Hyunjin wonders if he can make them turn around so he can take the first train back home again.

The town appears almost out of the blue. Suddenly they’re driving among houses and shops, and there’s people around. Hyunjin sits up quickly to look. There seems the be only one main street, but there’s lots of little side streets. There are more people than he expected, and none of them seem to be in much of a hurry, stopping to greet each other or chat on the corner.

“It’s not much, I guess,” Chan says and Hyunjin looks at him. He’s smiling a little, stopping to let someone cross the street. They wave at him and he waves back, and then they’re off again. “It’s a lot less than what you must be used to.”

“Probably,” Hyunjin agrees, “but it’s… nice. Looks cozy. Do you live here?”

“We passed it already.” Chan replies, “but I’ll show you sometime, if you’d like.”

Hyunjin nods. He feels awkward, like he should be apologizing for earlier. He can’t find it in himself to do it right now, though. He’ll stew on it a little.

They drive all the way through and then back out into the country. Hyunjin squints out the window.

“I thought you said she has a lot of neighbors.” he says.

“Depends on your definition of it.” Chan says. “Here we are.”

They pull up outside a house. It’s grander than Hyunjin had thought, and he stares out the window at it, mouth dropping open. He knows he’s visited his grandmother before, but it’s been years and he doesn’t recall it looking this big.

There’s a garden that seems to stretch around the house, and a pathway leads from a gate up to the front steps. The house itself is painted yellow, with white frames around the windows. He pushes the car door open and steps out. The air is cold and fresh, and he takes a deep breath almost unconsciously.

Chan gets out as well and gets his suitcase for him, handing it over.

“Thanks.”

Chan nods, pushing the gate open and waving him through. “Come on, let’s head inside. She said she would have dinner ready for you.”

Hyunjin walks up to the front door, but he hesitates in front of it. Maybe this is a bad idea. It had been his mom’s idea, to go to his grandmother’s for a while, sort his head out and everything, and Hyunjin had agreed, but… what is he doing, exactly? He hasn’t seen her since he was a kid, and now he’s about to spend a month with just her as company?

“You shouldn’t be worrying so much.”

He turns to look at Chan, who’s standing behind him, hands in the pockets of his jacket. He looks relaxed, and Hyunjin almost resents him.

“You don’t know me.” he mutters, looking back at the door.

Chan sighs and the steps past him, pushing the door open. “No, but I do know that you’re not going to get any less nervous if you stay out here.”

He enters, leaving Hyunjin on the step.

“Grandma Hwang? We’re back!”

Hyunjin grits his teeth and steps inside too, shutting the door behind himself.

They’re standing in a hallway. There’s a set of stairs on the right, leading to the second floor, and a door opening on the left. Hyunjin spots a living room in there. Down the hallway is another door, and then what looks like a kitchen at the very end. Pictures line the walls, and he spots some of himself as a kid, and then one of him in a uniform. His graduation photo? He didn’t think his mom would send her one.

A woman appears in the kitchen doorway then, wiping her hands on a towel.

“Thank you, Chan, dear,” she says, and then she beams at Hyunjin. “Hyunjin! Let me look at you, boy.”

“Hi, grams,” he says. He feels a little awkward, but he walks towards her, and some of the nerves turn into excitement. She wraps her arms around him, and he hugs her back, sinking into it. She smells the same as she did years ago, and her hugs feel just as secure. He hasn’t realized how much he’s missed it until he’s in her arms again.

She pulls back eventually and puts her hands on his shoulders to look at him properly. She’s almost his height, he realizes, and despite the wrinkles on her face and hands she seems… young, somehow. Her eyes twinkle.

“Well, look at you! Grown into such a handsome young man. You could be like those boys on TV, I kept telling your mother. She said it was nonsense of course, but what does that woman know?”

“It’s nice to see you again too, grams,” Hyunjin says, and he smiles despite himself. It feels really nice. He doesn’t know why he was nervous in the first place. “I’m not an idol, though. I’ve only just graduated high school.”

“Well, they’re young these days,” she says, “but I’m glad you’re not. Come, come, the food is ready. It must have been a long journey. Chan, you’ll be joining us, right?”

Hyunjin looks over his shoulder. He had almost forgotten Chan is even there. Chan looks at him, and Hyunjin shrugs. He doesn’t mind.

“Sure,” Chan says and smiles, “that’d be great.”

“Excellent. Come on, wash your hands and sit.”

She retreats into the kitchen, and Hyunjin realizes he’s still wearing his shoes and jacket. He toes his shoes off and puts them by the door, hanging his jacket up. Chan looks amused.

“What?” Hyunjin asks, frowning. “It’s polite.”

“I don’t think she’ll care.” Chan says, but then does the same.

They stop by the bathroom, which is behind the closed door in the hallway, washing their hands, and then enter the kitchen. His grandma is putting the dishes on the table, and it smells delicious. Hyunjin hasn’t realized how hungry he is until now.

“Sit, sit.” she says, waving away their attempts to help, and they sit on opposite sides. She takes the chair between them, and ushers them to help themselves.

There’s an awkward moment where they gesture at each other to go first back and forth, until finally she rolls her eyes and takes the ladle first, firmly shoving it into Hyunjin’s hand when she’s done. It at least solves the problem, and Hyunjin decides to just be civil and try to be normal for now, taking a deep breath and relaxing his shoulders.

His grandmother spends the meal asking about how he’s been, addressing Chan occasionally, but Chan seems to be fine listening to them for the most part. It helps, and only increases the guilt Hyunjin feels about his little tantrum in the car. It festers in his stomach, no matter how much he tries to ignore it, and he knows he needs to say something sooner or later.

Once dinner is finished, Chan stands.

“I should get going,” he says, pushing the chair back into place and carrying the empty dishes to the kitchen sink. “It’s getting late.”

Hyunjin is part relieved and part nervous because that means he’ll be alone with his grandmother. And it’s not like that won’t be fine, but it might be strange without a buffer there.

“Very well then,” his grandmother says, “it was lovely to see you. Come back again soon.”

“Of course.” Chan replies graciously. “Thank you for the meal, Grandma Hwang.”

He makes to leave the kitchen. Hyunjin makes a split-second decision and gets up as well.

“Let me walk you out.”

He feels like he’s got some things left unsaid, and he doesn’t want Chan to leave thinking Hyunjin dislikes him.

He pulls his shoes on while Chan grabs his jacket and his own shoes and walks him out onto the front step. He can’t quite find it in himself to say anything immediately, trying to figure out what sounds best. Chan is looking at him, expression expectant, and Hyunjin figures he’ll just have to jump into it.

“Thanks for staying for dinner. And for picking me up. I appreciate it. Uhm,” He unconsciously scratches the back of his neck, needing to fiddle with something, his feet shuffling a little in place. “I feel like we kinda got off on the wrong foot. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, or anything, for what you do. She’s clearly fond of you, and that’s… it’s fine. I’m glad she’s had you all this time, when my parents and I were so far away.”

He’s rambling, and he wants to close his eyes. God, this is embarrassing. He doesn’t know how else to get what he means out there, though. He wants to say a lot with few words but it all just comes out _jumbled_. It sucks.

Chan laughs.

Hyunjin is immediately on the defensive, but Chan quickly holds both hands up.

“Relax. I’m not laughing at you, Hyunjin. I get what you’re trying to say. I’d feel the same in your shoes, honestly.”

Hyunjin nods, scuffing his toe against the wood. “That’s good. You can keep doing all the stuff you have been if you wanna. Maybe I could tag along, or something?”

“Of course,” Chan replies easily, like it’s obvious he would. Maybe it is. He does seem too nice for his own good. “I can show you around and stuff. Besides, she’s your grandmother, I’m not looking to replace you.”

“I feel like I’m the one replacing you.” Hyunjin says helplessly. It just falls out, but it’s the gist of what he’s been feeling all afternoon. It’s ridiculous, his grandmother would probably whack him around the ear if she could hear him.

“Nah,” Chan says, but his expression softens, “don’t overthink it. You’ll feel differently in a few days, trust me.”

“I guess.”

Chan nods, glancing towards his car and pursing his lips.

“How about I come back in a few days? Gives you time to settle in and spend some time with her.”

“Oh. Yeah, sure, okay,” Hyunjin finally smiles, relieved at the offer, and Chan returns the smile with one of his own.

“Cool! I’ll see you then.”

He heads down and towards the gate. Hyunjin watches him until he’s in the car, raising a hand to wave when he drives away, and then shuffles back inside, shutting the door and toeing his shoes off again.

His grandmother is in the kitchen, washing the dishes, and he stops next to her.

“Can I help?”

“Of course. You can dry them.” she says, handing over a dishtowel. He takes it, happy to have something to do. “I know I have a dishwasher and all that, but I enjoy doing it by hand sometimes.”

Hyunjin feels hopeful at that. “Does that mean you have internet too?”

She turns her head to give him a look, eyebrow raised. “You kids these days. I’m your grandmother, I’m not ancient. Of course I have internet.”

“Right,” he mumbles, chastised, but offers a grin, “sorry.”

She just shakes her head and laughs.

It feels cozy, spending time with her like this, and it doesn’t feel as awkward as he thought it might. She talks the most, telling him about the house and the town, and says she’ll make Chan show him around later. Hyunjin learns that the house isn’t actually as big as it looks, and she has hired a gardener to help her take care of everything outside.

“I don’t have much of a green thumb,” she confesses, “so it was easier to just get someone else to do it. You’ll meet him tomorrow; he comes by three times a week.”

“Sure,” Hyunjin says, not feeling much about it one way or another, but it might be nice to see someone else around as well. “I’m happy to help you out though, grams.”

“You’re on vacation,” she says, shaking her head, “I thought you might want to just relax.”

“A little, but not the whole time. I want to spend time with you.”

It’s easy to say it because he does. His grandmother feels warm, her hands gentle when she cups his cheeks and peers at him. It makes him long for soft hugs, the kind he hasn’t felt in a long time. Sure, his parents love him, but they’re not affectionate.

“You’re sweet,” she says, patting his cheek finally, apparently finding whatever it she’s looking for in his expression. “Come on, let’s see your room. I have a guestroom upstairs; you can bring your things.”

They spend the evening walking around the house so he can familiarize himself with it. Upstairs has two bedrooms and a bathroom, as well as what could probably function as an office but is mostly filled with boxes and dusty junk that ends up there when there’s no space wherever else. Hyunjin suddenly itches to get his hands on the boxes to see what they contain. He’ll have to ask if he can, later. There’s also an attic, but apparently it’s never been used, and he knows he’ll ignore it. Dark, cramped spaces? No thanks.

They end up back downstairs and in the living room, sitting down on the couch. His grandmother turns the TV on for the news, the volume on low, but she turns to face him.

“Your mother said you needed some time away,” she says eventually. “I can read between the lines.”

“I got into some trouble, but it wasn’t _that_ bad,” Hyunjin mutters. He’s a little embarrassed. “I wanted to come, though. I mean that. But yeah, maybe it was good to get away for a bit… I love Seoul, but it’s so big sometimes.”

She nods like she understands. “It’s why I never wanted to move,” she says. “Your mother grew up in this town, and I know she hated it. I always had a hope she would come around, but she hasn’t been back in years.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t come sooner,” Hyunjin says, “she didn’t really want to, and it kind of just slipped.”

“Time has a habit of doing so,” she says, but she doesn’t look like she blames him. “It’s okay, Hyunjin. You’re here now and we have time.”

He smiles, some of his fears eased. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, dear.” she says, and that’s that.

☀

The first few days pass uneventfully. He spends some time talking to his mom or sister on the phone and takes his time to try and make the room feel like it’s more his own. Four weeks isn’t long, but he doesn’t want to feel like a guest the whole time.

The rest of the time he spends exploring the house and garden to his best ability, familiarizing himself with everything. He meets the gardener, Mr. Lee, the first morning. He’s raking leaves, the trees already going bare. Hyunjin will have to ask if that’s normal here, because it seems so early in the fall, but he’s not exactly well-versed in how the countryside works.

Mr. Lee is an older man with greying hair and a bit of a belly, but he smiles kindly when he introduces himself. “Lee Yonghwan,” he greets, “I’ve heard a lot about you. Hyunjin, isn’t it?”

Hyunjin nods and shakes his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Lee.”

“If you have any questions about gardening, then I’m your man,” Mr. Lee says, “but unfortunately I know very little else.”

“That’s okay,” Hyunjin says, smiling despite himself, “I won’t bother you long. Is there anything to do around here? Outside of going into town.”

“Well,” Mr. Lee muses, leaning on his rake, “there are the forest trails, if you like hiking.”

He helpfully points towards the forest behind the house. “If you enter from here and walk straight, you’ll hit the trails. Though you’ll want proper shoes.”

Hyunjin looks down at his converse. “Right.”

Mr. Lee laughs and claps him on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Truthfully, I’m happy you’ve arrived. Eunkyung has been happier since she found out you’d come to visit.”

He has to take a moment to actually place who Mr. Lee is talking about before he realizes it’s his grandma’s first name. He’s never really thought about it, which… he’ll have to take that secret to his grave, probably.

“Really?” he asks, feeling happy to hear it.

Mr. Lee nods. “Of course! You’re her grandson.”

He says it like it’s so obvious that his grandma would be happy to have him visit, and deep down Hyunjin knows it’s true, of course. It just feels a little surreal.

“I’m happy to be here too.”

“Good, good. I’ll see you around then.”

It’s a dismissal, but Hyunjin doesn’t take it too hard, instead crossing the garden to look at the forest. There’s a gate here too, but no obvious trail leading from it to the tree line. He’ll have to check it out once he does have better shoes. He’s kind of ill-prepared, he realizes.

His grandmother is happy to lend him a pair of his grandfather’s old hiking boots when he asks her about it at dinnertime, but she also tells him he could go in and buy some if he needs to.

“I’m sure Chan will be happy to help you out.” she says, watching him peel the potatoes with a careful eye. He’s quickly learning he can’t slack at a job he’s given, because she’ll tell him off, all no-nonsense, if he does.

“I don’t want to bother him,” Hyunjin says, shaking his head, “he might not want to drag me along everywhere.”

“Nonsense,” she counters immediately. “Of course he will! There honestly aren’t a whole lot of people his age here anymore, I’m sure he’s happy to finally have someone. I have his number written down somewhere so you can call him.”

He doesn’t call, but later that night he sends Chan a text.

 **Hyunjin  
**hi, it’s hyunjin.

is it okay that i’m texting you?

i don’t wanna be a bother.

**Chan**  
Hi! That’s okay :)

I was going to ask for your number but I forgot

How are you? Settling in okay?

**Hyunjin  
**yeah i’m doing ok.

i haven’t really seen the town yet. wanna hang out sometime?

Hyunjin feels a little ridiculous, sitting cross-legged on his bed, waiting for a reply like he’s talking to his crush. He wants Chan to like him, so he can have someone to hang out with while he stays. He could do with a friend who is genuine. Hopefully he doesn’t come off as desperate.

**Chan**  
Of course! I meant it when I said I was gonna come by again

How about tomorrow? I can show you the hotspots

**Hyunjin**  
great! around noon?

**Chan**  
Not a morning person?

**Hyunjin**  
ugh

**Chan**  
I’m kidding! Noon sounds fine, see you then :)

Hyunjin smiles as he finally gets under the covers, pulling up a game on his phone to play before going to sleep. A draft from the window makes him shiver, and he squints towards it. He thought he closed it. He can’t see with the curtains drawn, so he shrugs and pulls the duvet over his shoulders.

☀

Chan shows up the next morning around noon, and Hyunjin calls a goodbye to his grandmother before stepping out.

“Hey,” Chan greets and Hyunjin smiles.

“Hi. I take it _you_ are a morning person?”

“There’s nothing better.” Chan agrees, before laughing. “But I do enjoy sleeping in. Sometimes. Come on, let’s get going.”

They pass Mr. Lee, who is trimming down the hedges. He waves a hand, and they wave back, heading through the gate and going down the street.

“How’s Lee treating you?” Chan asks when they’re out of earshot.

“Fine, I guess?” Hyunjin replies, puzzled. “Why, shouldn’t he?”

“No, it’s good,” Chan replies. “Just got the feeling he doesn’t like me much. He’s been around for years. You know how old people are about the younger generation and all that.”

Hyunjin shrugs. Most old people he’s met back in Seoul spend most of the time yelling at him and his friends for hanging around the convenience store too much or laughing too loudly in the park. He’s been called a hooligan a million times, as if that’s a word people even use anymore. He gets it.

“Anyway, want me to just show you around?” Chan continues. “It won’t take long to head through the main street, but there’s the park and a bunch of stores. We could drive into the city some time too.”

“We can drive there?” Hyunjin asks, surprised.

Chan nods. “Yeah. Takes about an hour each way. I go sometimes on weekends if you wanna tag along.”

“That’d be great.” Hyunjin says.

He’s already missing the busy city life, even if the countryside is nice too. He’s starting to understand all of those romance stories where the main character sits on the porch with their coffee while it rains and all that junk his mom tends to read. He’ll have to come back more often in the future, just so he can pretend to be one of them.

It’s a nice day, the sun shining. It’s not too hot, but warm enough that he can tie his jacket around his waist. Chan is just wearing a sweater and jeans, probably used to it.

“How long are you staying?” Chan asks him.

“Four weeks is the plan,” Hyunjin replies. “I’m taking a gap year, but I didn’t wanna stay too long. I don’t think grandma would want me around for too long at a time.”

“I’m sure she would,” Chan protests mildly. “She adores you. She was super excited when she told me you were coming to stay. Don’t knock yourself down, Hyunjin.”

“You’re too nice,” Hyunjin says, shaking his head. “But thanks, I guess. What about you? You planning to stay here forever?”

Chan gives him a look, but accepts the change in conversation.

“Don’t know. I had planned to move, with a friend of mine. We were going to become stars, make it big.” He smiles faintly. Hyunjin notices him playing with a necklace, rubbing his thumb over the pendant. Looking closer, he sees it’s a sun.

Chan catches him looking and grins, tucking it into his t-shirt. “Plans change. I’m not sure what I want to do, so I’m staying here for a while longer. My parents don’t mind, and your grandma pays me for my help, so I’m building up some funds for when I do move. I try not to stress over it. Life’s too short to doubt yourself.”

“Wise words.” Hyunjin hums, looking up at the sky. “I’m trying not to doubt, but it’s not easy.”

“You’ll get there.” Chan says. Hyunjin believes him.

They come into the town proper, scenery going from nature to buildings rather jarringly. The first few seem only to be apartments, but then they come across shops and eateries. Chan waves at almost everyone they pass, seemingly knowing everybody. The pros of a small town, Hyunjin supposes, though he does like the anonymity a big city provides.

Chan helpfully points out things to him while they walk, like the library and the coffee shop and the medical center.

“It’s just for minor emergencies, the hospital is in the city,” he says. “My mom works here. My dad works in the city.”

“Long way to travel for work,” Hyunjin says, raising both eyebrows.

Chan shrugs.

“It’s always been that way. He likes the travel. Says it gives him peace, or something.”

They stop by some shops, just to take a quick look inside, but Hyunjin resists the temptation to buy anything. Eventually Chan stops him.

“We’ve seen most of what there is,” he explains. “Further out you start coming to the farms. There’s some agriculture around here. There’s a river out that way too, we sometimes go swimming there if my friends are around.”

“They’re usually not?” Hyunjin wonders.

“Moved to the city, all of them,” Chan says ruefully. “It’s boring, staying here. I get it, but. Sometimes it’s not so bad.”

“They can always come back.” Hyunjin says. “When they’ve finished studying or grow tired of the city. It can be exhausting. It’s nice here.”

“You say that now,” Chan says with a laugh. “We’ll see. I’m not too bothered.”

Hyunjin hopes he’s telling the truth. It’s a little sad, picturing Chan alone, with only adults and elderly to interact with. He seems carefree enough, though, and they don’t know each other enough for Hyunjin to pry. He’s already learned a lot, and he’s happy that Chan seems to be so open.

They end up heading back to the coffee shop. To Hyunjin’s surprise, the employee behind the counter seems pretty young too. Older than him and Chan, for sure, but not... old. They both get hot chocolates and settle by a table to people watch.

“So what do you want to do in the future?” Chan asks him. “After your gap year, I mean?”

“Going to university,” Hyunjin says, stirring the whipped cream into the chocolate. “I don’t know what I want to study. There are some things I would like to do, but they won’t get me a well-paying job. Might go into business, or something. It doesn’t seem that bad. I could totally do being an eternal paper shuffler.”

Chan grimaces at him. “That sounds boring.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Hyunjin sighs. “Life.”

“Life.” Chan agrees solemnly. “But what would you do if you did what you wanted? Like say it didn’t matter if it got you a job or not?”

“I like to dance,” Hyunjin replies. “It’s fun. I hate exercising, but dancing is more than that.”

“That’s cool,” Chan says with a smile. “Do you do it often?”

“As often as I can,” He’s getting eager now that Chan seems interested. “I dance with a group back home, a few times a week. It’s great. Freeing. I’d do it all the time if I could.”

“I don’t really know any dances,” Chan muses, “I see stuff on TV and online all the time, but I could never coordinate my feet. I like music though.”

“But if you wanted to become a star…?” Hyunjin prods.

Chan gives him a look. “I was thinking more of the making music variety,” he says. “I do it sometimes now, but it’s not good enough to actually get anywhere. It’s just for fun. Used to mess around with it a lot more before, got my friend to help and everything.”

“And now?” Hyunjin asks.

Chan is quiet for a moment.

“It’s been a while.” is all he says.

Hyunjin realizes he’s tipping into territory he should avoid, so he lets the silence fall for a minute before asking Chan about his family and then about how he became his grandmother’s errand boy. He makes a hilarious face at being called an errand boy and threatens to throw whipped cream into Hyunjin’s hair, but he laughs while doing it and the heavy air from before clears.

☀

Hyunjin has been in the house for nearly a week when he starts experiencing things he can’t explain. He’s getting ready for bed when the ceiling lights in his room flicker, and he pauses, staring up at them in confusion. Another second and they go back to normal. And then they flicker again.

He frowns and goes to turn them off. He’ll have to change the lightbulbs in the morning.

The next night they flicker again despite being brand new.

Another night he wakes up in the middle of the night and his room is _freezing_. He exhales and shivers, can almost see his breath even in the dark. The window is open just a bit to let some air in, and he gets out of bed to close it. The floor is like ice and he wraps his arms around himself. He feels uneasy and quickly grabs his blankets, trudging downstairs. The rest of the house seems normal, but he keeps a light on and spends most of the night watching it, waiting for it to flicker.

The next days he finds his things places where he’s sure he didn’t leave them. His hairbrush is under the sink, his headphones on the desk when he swears he left them on the nightstand, his sweater folded up on the bed when he knows he threw it in a corner the night before.

He goes to his grandmother because none of this is making sense.

“Grandma?”

She looks up from her knitting, glasses perched on her nose and smiles.

“Hyunjin! Come sit.” She pats the seat next to her and he sits down, pulling his legs up beneath him, to look at what she’s making.

“A scarf?” he asks, and she holds the yarn at arm’s length and squints.

“Sure, let’s call it that.”

They’re quiet for another minute. Hyunjin tries to figure out what to say without sounding ridiculous.

“Grandma? Have you ever experienced anything weird in the house?”

She puts the knitting down in her lap and looks at him. “Weird?” she repeats.

He chews on his lip, before deciding to throw caution to the wind. “Things keep happening, and I can’t explain them. The lights were flickering on and off, even if I changed the bulbs. And things keep showing up where I _know_ I didn’t leave them.”

“Do you think the house is haunted?” she wonders. She seems amused.

“Grandma.” Hyunjin tries, not liking that she seems to be making fun of him. “I’m being serious.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry, she says. “There may have been a weird occurrence or two, but it’s an old house, Hyunjin. I haven’t seen any ghosts. Maybe it’s just because you’re still getting used to staying here.”

He wants to believe her, but he still has his doubts. He’s never believed in ghosts, but he doesn’t know how to rationalize his experiences. Maybe he just needs to get out more. He tells himself this even while he’s awake that night, trying not to think about how the shadows seem darker in the corner than anywhere else in the room. Nor about how they seem to be moving.

He hides under the duvet, pulling it over his head, tense. He can feel himself start to cold sweat, wondering if something is watching him. He braces himself, swallowing hard, and darts his hand out to turn the lamp on, hand fumbling. The room lights up and he sits up, searching the room immediately.

There’s nothing to be seen. He collapses back down with a sigh, dragging his hands over his face. He must be losing his mind.

☀

One evening he’s getting ready for bed, brushing his teeth by the bathroom sink. He’s tired, despite not really doing much. His grandmother says it’s all the fresh country air, and he’ll believe her just because she seems happy teasing him about it. She’s still up, and maybe he should be embarrassed about going to bed before his 70-year-old grandmother, but he can’t find it in himself to.

Besides, he finds it comforting listening to her moving around and watching TV downstairs while he tries to sleep, still weirded out by everything that’s been happening. He wants to believe it’s nothing, but he’s only fooling himself.

He leans down to spit, and when he stands back up there’s a boy in the mirror, standing behind him.

Hyunjin shrieks, toothbrush clattering into the sink as he whirls around. The boy’s eyes widen and he frantically starts waving his hands back and forth.

“Hyunjin?” his grandmother calls from downstairs, “is everything okay?”

He glances towards the door and back. The boy is trying to shush him, finger to his lips, his other hand still waving at him.

“I-”

The boy is gesturing, palms pressed together, shaking his head.

“I’m fine! I slipped, sorry!”

He looks at the boy, trying to understand what the fuck is happening.

“Who are you?”

The boy pauses, then squints.

“Can you really see me?” he asks.

Hyunjin squints right back. “Yes. Am I not supposed to?” A late realization comes to him. “Are you a _ghost_?!”

“Hush!” the boy hisses, glancing towards the door. “Of course I’m a ghost! How else would I get in here?”

“I don’t know – breaking in? What the fuck.” Hyunjin whispers to himself. A distant part of himself realizes he should be more in shock than he is, but he’s not been given a _how to talk to ghosts 101_ handbook.

The boy loses his suspicious expression, straightening up, and suddenly seems gleeful. He’s… cute, Hyunjin supposes. Round cheeks and orange hair flopping in his eyes, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie.

“Minho swore you saw him!” he says, “he was totally right! I knew it. Jeongin owes me ten bucks.”

Minho? Jeongin? _More_ ghosts? Hyunjin needs to sit down.

The boy seems to think so too, quickly reaching out. “Hey, you don’t look so good, wanna sit down?”

Hyunjin nods faintly, trotting over to the toilet and sitting down on the closed lid. Honestly, what the fuck? He stares at the boy, who stares right back with his cheeks puffed up. He doesn’t know how long this impromptu staring competition goes on, before the boy sticks out a hand.

“I’m Jisung.”

Hyunjin gives the hand a wary look. It _seems_ solid, but aren’t ghosts supposed to be unable to touch anything? Looking up, he’s met with a hopeful stare, so he sighs and reaches his own hand out.

It passes right through Jisung’s, and he jumps at the shock of cold that comes with it, quickly pulling his own hand back to stare at it. It looks normal, and the cold feeling disappears soon enough, but he spends a moment clenching and unclenching his fingers.

When he looks back up, Jisung looks disappointed, staring at his own hand. “Crap.”

“I’m sorry?” Hyunjin offers, not sure what else to say.

Jisung heaves a sigh and studies his own hand. “It’s fine. I just hoped that since you could see me, you could touch me too. Can you imagine? Twenty years without physical contact! It sucks.”

“Twenty _years_?” Hyunjin squeaks.

Jisung looks up and jams his hand back into his hoodie pocket, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah? Or around that, I guess. I’m not even sure anymore.” He shrugs and hops up onto the counter.

Hyunjin has _so many_ questions.

“Anyway, Changbin has been here for like a hundred years, so it’s nothing big.”

“It’s been forty-seven.” comes a voice as another boy comes through the mirror.

Hyunjin slaps a hand over his mouth so he doesn’t scream again.

The new boy is shorter than Jisung and wearing what looks like a school uniform, but not one Hyunjin recognizes. He’s got a tired look on his face as he scratches his chin. His black hair is cropped short.

“Forty-seven, a hundred, it still feels the same.” Jisung says, waving him away.

“So, uhm,” Hyunjin stutters. They both look his way and he wonders if he’s somehow fallen and hit his head and is hallucinating all of this. “I suppose you’re Changbin.”

“That’s right.” Changbin finally says. He’s looking Hyunjin up and down, frowning. “How can you see us? Who are you?”

“I don’t know,” Hyunjin replies, feeling silly but powering through, “I mean, I know who I am. I’m Hwang Hyunjin. I don’t know how I can see you. I’ve never seen a ghost before.”

Changbin looks at Jisung, who holds both hands up. “Don’t look at me! I don’t know anything about this. Minho was the one who started it, yell at him.”

If anything, Changbin just looks tired of his antics, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing.

“At least this is better than the time you insisted the old woman could see you.”

“She did!” Jisung insists.

“She definitely didn’t-”

“She was making me food and you’re just jealous she didn’t make you any.”

“Jisung-”

“Hey.” Hyunjin coughs and they both pause. They seem like they’ve forgotten he’s there. “This is interesting and all, but I’m really confused.”

Neither of the ghosts have time to reply before someone knocks on the door and nearly scares Hyunjin half to death again. He’s not keen on becoming one of the ghosts apparently living here.

“Hyunjin? Who on earth are you talking to?”

It’s his grandmother, and he freezes, unsure what to say. She’ll think he’s crazy if he tells the truth. He glances at the two, who look at each other with wide eyes and then at him.

“Don’t tell her!” Jisung hisses.

Changbin slaps his arm. “Quiet! She might hear you.”

Hyunjin makes a decision and gets up and over to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open just enough to stick his head out.

“Sorry, grams. I was talking to my friend on the phone. Was I being too loud?”

“No, I just heard your voice,” she says. She looks worried, but it clears somewhat as she looks at him. “I just wanted to check on you. Ae you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he says, and feels a stab of guilt over lying to her like that. If she only heard his voice, it must mean she can’t hear or see the ghosts, right? She’s been living here for years; she would probably have noticed something was amiss sooner if she could. He doesn’t want to scare her, no matter how friendly Jisung seems to be. A ghost is a ghost.

Right?

“Well, alright,” she says and smiles, seemingly relaxing. “You should head off to bed then. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

He nods and smiles back. “Goodnight, grams.”

“Goodnight, dear.” She reaches up to pat his cheek and then heads back downstairs.

Hyunjin shuts the door and leans back against it, groaning a little. What kind of mess has he gotten himself into? He doesn’t want to have a secret, not when he’s under her roof. Clearly there’s more than just the two of them too. He has so many questions.

It’s quiet in the bathroom. He looks up and realizes he’s alone.

☀

Hyunjin decides to ask if Chan wants to hang out the next day. It’s only been a few days since they saw each other last, but he has some questions and some theories and wants to run them by Chan. He can only hope he’ll be able to be subtle about it, even if it’s not exactly his best quality.

They meet at the only coffee shop the town has to offer. It’s cozy and Hyunjin has made it a habit to stop by when he can. Chan had seemed happy when Hyunjin asked him, and he’s there already when Hyunjin gets there, waving from a table.

Hyunjin waves back, finding himself smiling without meaning to just upon seeing him, and then quickly turns to make his order before joining him.

Chan pushes a plate with a cinnamon bun towards him.

“Split with me?” he offers, holding up a fork.

“Sure,” Hyunjin agrees and watches with amusement as Chan tries to cut it in half without getting icing sugar everywhere. He succeeds somewhat and offers it on a napkin. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Chan replies, seemingly pleased, and sips his hot chocolate. “Why did you want to meet?”

Hyunjin pauses. “Can’t we hang out just because?”

“Of course,” Chan replies easily. “But you might have an ulterior motive, who knows?”

He smiles, but his expression is hard to read. Hyunjin is quiet for a moment, unsure. Chan seems to notice, because he seems to ease up, shaking his head.

“Hey. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m happy you asked to meet up, is all.”

“It’s okay. I’m not upset,” Hyunjin says. “Seriously. I asked because I wanted to see you. You’re my friend.”

Chan seems relieved. “Good.”

Before they can continue, the employee brings over Hyunjin’s coffee. He thanks her, and there’s a minute of silence between the two of them when they’re left alone again. It’s not awkward, per say, but Hyunjin is trying to figure out what to say and how to put it.

He ends up just jumping into it.

“Has there been anything weird going on here?”

Chan pauses, mouth stuffed full of cinnamon bun.

“Huh?” he mumbles around it.

Hyunjin tries not to grimace. “Like in the town. Any weird happenings? Strange things going on?”

Chan takes a moment, and Hyunjin hopes he hasn’t just scared Chan off for good.

“Not really,” he finally says. “Not unless you count old mister Kim accusing everyone of sabotaging his pumpkin patch every year before the autumn festival.”

Hyunjin pauses, caught off guard. “Do they?” he asks, curious despite himself.

“No idea,” Chan confesses and grins, “between me and you, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do. Old Kim is angry all the time and threatens to call the cops on anyone who nears his property. Chased the mailman all the way through his fields once.”

Small town drama is so _weird_. Hyunjin kind of loves it.

“Maybe we should go through his fields once.” he says. Chan raises an eyebrow.

“Okay. But if we get caught, I’m blaming you.”

“Deal.” Hyunjin replies. He shakes his head a little, trying to get back on track. “But back to what I was asking about. I meant more like… the supernatural kind of thing. Lights flickering, things moving.”

Chan looks at him like he’s concerned. “Uh, no.”

“Okay,” Hyunjin murmurs. He quickly drinks of his coffee, trying to hide how embarrassed he feels. Chan is never going to want to talk to him again, seriously. When he puts it down, Chan is still looking at him, arms folded on the table.

“Is everything alright with you?” he asks. “Did something happen?”

“No,” Hyunjin says. “I mean, I’m fine. Nothing happened. The lights flickered but it was nothing.”

He wants to spill it all. Chan has the kind of air about him that just makes Hyunjin feel safe. Like he can spill all his secrets and Chan will accept him and tell him it’ll be okay. He probably gives the warmest hugs.

“Just… uh, what about deaths? Has anyone died around here? Younger people, I mean?”

Chan’s demeanor changes. Not obviously, but he straightens, not looking at him. “Why are you asking?”

“No reason.”

Hyunjin knows Chan doesn’t believe him for a second.

“This isn’t a horror movie, Hyunjin,” Chan says. “I don’t get why you’re asking these things. Are you having nightmares?”

Hyunjin looks at him for a moment, trying to understand him. Chan glances up, but he looks away just as quickly. He’s hiding something. He’s suddenly fiddling with his napkin, fingers drumming against the tabletop, and he won’t quite meet Hyunjin’s eyes, even as he offers a vague smile.

“I’m sorry I said anything,” Hyunjin finally says, shaking his head. “It’s just been a weird couple of days. Look, I didn’t mean to weird you out, I swear I’m not… I’m just being ridiculous.”

Chan looks at him for a long time. “Let’s head outside.” he says suddenly.

Hyunjin is confused, but follows him out the door when Chan gets up to leave. The air outside is chilly and Hyunjin zips up his jacket, the two of them walking down the street. It takes a while, but eventually Chan speaks.

“Look. You came here for a reason, right? To stay with your grandmother?”

Hyunjin frowns, looking at him. “What?”

Chan hesitates.

“I just mean… that’s what Grandma Hwang said when she told me you were coming to visit. That you were having some trouble back home and needed to get away.”

It isn’t surprising that his grandma told Chan why Hyunjin was coming to stay. ‘Having some trouble’ is one way to put it, but Hyunjin doesn’t know if his mom told his grandma everything, or if she doesn’t know more than that and just told Chan what she did know.

Still, he’s not sure what Chan is insinuating.

“I didn’t come to stay with her because I’m crazy or something, if that’s what you believe,” he says eventually. “It’s not that deep. I just had some bad friends, and we did bad shit together, that’s all. It’s got nothing to do with what I asked you.”

Chan nods a little but doesn’t say anything.

They come to the park and step inside, heading over to the swings. Chan sits down first, kicking his legs against the sand. Hyunjin joins him on the other swing, toeing at the sand below their feet.

“I’m sorry if I weirded you out by asking,” Hyunjin says at last, “I didn’t mean anything by it. There was just some stuff going on, and… I haven’t been getting enough sleep, I dunno. The house is old and creaks sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Chan nods. He shrugs his shoulders and finally smiles, small but there. “It’s alright. Let’s just… let’s forget about it. Right?”

Hyunjin hopes they can. He nods, and Chan grins, kicking his legs to swing higher.

“Come on. Person to swing highest gets to steal one of old Kim’s pumpkins.”

Hyunjin stares at him in disbelief, but then quickly tries to catch up.

Small towns really are _so_ weird.

☀

Jisung decides to show up again when Hyunjin is alone in the house. His grandmother has gone to visit a friend in the town, and Hyunjin is happy to have some alone time, laid on the couch and humming along to a song on TV, lazily kicking his feet where they hang off the end, trying to beat his high score on a tap tap game on his phone.

A shock of orange abruptly obscures his sight, and he yelps, falling off the couch.

“Sorry!”

He winces, looking up to see Jisung peer at him, sitting on his knees in the spot Hyunjin had occupied.

He looks pleased rather than sorry, and Hyunjin sits up with a sigh.

“I had hoped I imagined you,” he says, because it’s been two days without a single sign of ghosts. “What do you want?”

“For someone who discovered ghosts exist, you seem kind of unbothered.” Jisung points out as Hyunjin drops back down onto the seat next to him. “Most people would be screaming and running for the hills.”

Hyunjin probably should be doing the same. He doesn’t really know why he’s indulging Jisung, real or not. He could be hallucinating.

“You don’t seem like a bad person,” is what he settles for. “Like… you don’t seem malevolent. Isn’t that what they say in the horror movies? Malevolent spirits? You seem nice. Changbin did too.”

“Yeah, we’re pretty cool, I’ll admit,” Jisung says with a grin. “I mean, you got lucky meeting us rather than… Seungmin, or Minho. They’re so boring. Seungmin just wants to stay out of sight and Minho wants to keep playing tricks on you. You’re lucky Changbin says he can’t.”

There it is again. Minho was mentioned last time, but this Seungmin is new. Honestly, how many of them are there? Hyunjin wants to know how many ghosts he’s supposedly sharing this house with.

“So there’s five of you?” he tries.

“Six.” Jisung replies and _picks up_ Hyunjin’s phone.

Hyunjin gapes at him.

“We can pick up things, I thought you realized that when your stuff got moved around.” Jisung says when he notices, before going back to look at the game. “It’s so colorful. When I played games on my phone it was just boring stuff. I think the best thing I ever got to play was… you know, that one with the snake?”

“…Snake?” Hyunjin ventures.

“Yeah!” Jisung nods. “I think I played it a little. And then I died, so y’know.”

He talks about it so casually. Hyunjin is a little bit disturbed.

“How did you die?” he tries.

Jisung shrugs. “I don’t know. Well, I don’t remember, I guess. Apparently, it’s a ghost thing, not remembering. I don’t know why I’m here, either. I lived in these parts but not in this house. It’s weird. Back in the beginning I kept wanting to find out, but Changbin and Minho said it was better if I didn’t, and I think they’re right.”

Hyunjin is curious about it, and he wants to ask more, but he doesn’t want to be… invasive, or something. Maybe Jisung will turn into a vengeful ghost if he is.

Jisung seems to notice though. “I mean, I think I’m better off not knowing if someone did it or if I died from natural causes. Maybe someone, like…” He drags a finger over his neck. “You know?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin says with a grimace. “I get it. I wouldn’t want to know either.”

Jisung nods and tries to tap on the screen, but sets the phone down in disappointment when it doesn’t work.

“So. Six?” Hyunjin goes for next. “That’s, uh. A lot of you.”

“Yep.” Jisung nods. “Me and Changbin, and Minho, and Jeongin and Seungmin, and Felix. Do you wanna meet them?”

Hyunjin doesn’t know if he does. He’s already seen Changbin, and maybe that’s enough. But at the same time, maybe seeing them will make it less scary. Jisung definitely doesn’t seem scary in the slightest, now that he has the image of him playing _Snake_ on an old Nokia phone. No scary ghost would do that, right?

“Would they want to meet me?” he asks.

“Sure they would,” Jisung says and tilts his head. “Hey Minho! Get your ass over here.”

“God dammit, Jisung,” comes a voice as someone comes phasing through the wall, hovering several feet above the floor, “I wanted to make an entrance.”

Hyunjin stares in surprise. It doesn’t feel as scary right now, but he still can’t believe he’s seeing a ghost doing… ghost things. Jesus, he could do with some alcohol right now. The guy in question – Minho – is wearing jeans and a t-shirt along with a pair of scuffed sneakers. His hair is dark brown, messily falling into his eyes.

“You’ve already done your scary haunting stuff,” Jisung says, waving a dismissive hand. “Come introduce yourself properly. Hyunjin is really nice, he doesn’t deserve being scared.”

“You’re only saying that because he complimented you.” Minho says, but dutifully drops until his feet are firmly planted on the floor. He gives Hyunjin a look that’s more challenging than welcoming. “I’m Minho. Sorry for scaring you, I guess.”

“It’s okay,” Hyunjin says, because what else would he say? “You did a good job. I was pretty freaked out for a while.”

“Yeah,” Minho says, looking smug. “I got you to hide down here, that was funny.”

“Ten out of ten haunting.” Hyunjin gives him a thumbs up.

Minho gives him a look.

“Don’t push it.”

Hyunjin quickly puts his hands in his lap.

Minho drops down on Jisung’s other side. “Are we waiting for the others?”

“If they could all show up instead of doing a dramatic entrance like you, we wouldn’t have to wait.” Jisung replies. “Hyunjin’ll be impressed anyway. Right?”

“Sure.” Hyunjin agrees. He doesn’t want to offend anybody.

“I already introduced myself.”

All three of them jump. Changbin is suddenly sitting cross-legged on the back of the sofa, looking down at them.

“Don’t do that!” Jisung says, clutching his chest. “You scared me half to death!”

“You’re already dead.” Changbin points out, before looking at Hyunjin. “Sorry if I scared you, though.”

“It’s fine.” Hyunjin replies meekly. A polite ghost. Stranger things have probably happened.

There’s a pop and another boy appears in front of the TV, looking at them with a bright grin.

“Hi!”

“We saw you earlier today.” Minho complains.

The boy ignores him and heads straight over to stand in front of Hyunjin, who looks up at him with wide eyes. The boy looks like a baby. He’s got a bright smile and a dimple along with a ridiculous bowl-cut, but he holds his hand out so enthusiastically Hyunjin immediately feels bad because they can’t shake hands.

“I’m Jeongin!”

“Hyunjin,” Hyunjin says. “We can’t touch.”

Jeongin shrugs. “Try anyway.”

Hyunjin obediently holds his hand out and they try to somewhat shake hands. He doesn’t think he’ll get used to the icy feeling of their touch, ever. They all look solid, so watching his hand pass through Jeongin’s is _weird_.

“Thanks!”

“You’re welcome.” Hyunjin replies because there’s nothing else he can really do. He wants to stay on the good side of these people, preferably.

“And now Seungmin and Felix.” Jisung says, getting up and heading out of the living room, calling out. “Come on! It’s just you two left. No, he won’t dislike you, Seungmin, chill. What do you mean, old enough to be his dad? You’re a high schooler! Good, come on.”

Jisung comes back into the living room, dragging someone by their wrist. Seungmin, Hyunjin assumes. Another boy follows just behind them. It must be Felix. Seungmin looks disgruntled, but nods at Hyunjin.

“I’m Seungmin. Sorry about them, I can make them leave if you want.”

“No, it’s all good,” Hyunjin replies. “Thanks for the offer, but… I don’t mind.”

And he finds that he means it. They do seem really nice.

Seungmin eyes him for a moment, but then nods again. “Okay. Let me know, though.”

Hyunjin studies the two newcomers, trying not to stare too blatantly at them. Seungmin is wearing slacks and a shirt, complete with a vest and tie, but the tie is loosened, the knot messy. He seems a little bit serious, but hopefully it’s just because of this being their first meeting.

Felix is smiling a little. He’s got dirty blond hair, and he’s wearing the most modern clothes of the bunch, in that they don’t look as worn; a t-shirt with a bunch of English words on it and a pair of shorts, socks folded around his ankles, feet tucked into a pair of short sneakers. He’s got freckles. It’s cute.

“I’m Felix.” he offers.

Hyunjin has to do a double take at how deep his voice is compared to how sweet he seems. Felix grins, looking like he’s used to it and enjoying surprising people, hand fiddling with a necklace. Hyunjin can’t get a good look at it, but he thinks he sees stars.

“So that’s all of us!” Jisung says, holding both arms out. “Ta-da.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.” Hyunjin says, and hopes he comes off as sincere. He is, he just doesn’t know what to say to them. “I’m sorry you’re stuck here.”

“We’re used to it.” Minho dismisses. “It’s gotten better after you got here. Now we can finally haunt someone.”

“You haven’t haunted my grandma?” Hyunjin wonders. Minho gives him a look.

“Look, I may be a bit of an ass but I’m not looking to give a sweet old grandma a heart attack.” He pauses. “It’s gonna get crowded.”

“Sure.” Hyunjin says, trying to hide a smile. Minho scowls.

They spend some time talking, though Hyunjin watches them interact more than actively participating. They drift off eventually, some actually leaving through the doorway while others just are there one moment and gone the next, until he’s left with Jisung and Felix. Jisung has picked his phone up again, and Hyunjin watches him try to swipe on the screen for a moment before interjecting.

“Is there anything you wanna look at?” he asks. “I don’t mind helping you.”

“I wanna play a game,” Jisung sighs. “This is so much better than the phones we had. Why can I pick things up but not play on your phone?”

“I guess ghosts can’t use touch screens,” Hyunjin replies. It’s a little bit sad, watching Jisung struggle. He thinks for a moment, before getting an idea. “But if you can pick things up, maybe you can use this?”

He takes the phone back and pulls out the stylus that comes with it. He’s never really used it, but maybe it’ll come in handy now.

Jisung takes both items back and makes a surprised noise when it works.

“Nice!”

They lose him then as he explores. Hyunjin is extremely happy he hasn’t got anything incriminating on his phone and vows to never let any of them look at his laptop.

He looks at Felix instead, who’s sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, leaned back on his arms. He’s watching Jisung with a fond expression, but looks to Hyunjin when he notices him looking. Hyunjin hesitates briefly, but then joins him on the floor and gets a smile in return.

“It’s so weird that you can see us,” Felix says. “I thought we would be stuck forever without anyone else to talk to.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around ghosts being a thing,” Hyunjin admits. “I thought if they did, they would for sure be evil or something, but. You guys really don’t seem bad.”

Felix shrugs. “We’re just… us. One day I was alive and the next I woke up here. Once I got used to it, I realized it isn’t the worst that could happen.”

Hyunjin doesn’t know if _he_ could accept becoming a ghost and stuck in one place forever, but then again, he’s not got the same perspective on it as they do.

“How long has it been for you?” he asks, and then quickly adds, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Felix laughs. “Don’t worry. It hasn’t been long. I’m the newest here. It’s only been a couple of years, I think? I used to have a phone almost just like yours, at least.”

Hyunjin nods, and he’s so, so curious, but asking how they died seems really insensitive. He had dared to ask Jisung, but he kind of regrets it, and if they can’t remember it anyway… It’s better he doesn’t try to push. Maybe they’ll remember eventually?

“Can you leave the house at all?” is what he settles for asking.

Felix nods. “Yup. Seems we can go as far as the fence. We don’t really like going out there, though. Changbin says the garden gives him the creeps, and Jeongin agrees with him, so we mostly stay inside, except for when we’re really bored and Jisung dares us to stay out there to see who can last the longest.”

Hyunjin glances up at Jisung, who seems fully concentrated on a game.

“That seems a little… mean.”

“It’s harmless fun.” Felix replies. “You know… sometimes, it’s like…”

He pauses, looking like he’s struggling to find out how to say it.

“We’re not… aware? Like right here and now, we’re present, and we can interact with you and the things around us, and then sometimes it feels like I’m waking up and an unknown amount of time has passed. I think it’s part of being a ghost stuck somewhere. If we were aware all the time, we’d go crazy.”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin says faintly. He can’t imagine being constantly aware and stuck in a place for forty-seven years like Changbin. “That’s good, then.”

“Yeah. But it hasn’t been happening since you got here.”

Hyunjin quickly looks at him. Felix doesn’t look angry, just contemplative. He notices Hyunjin looking and smiles.

“It’s cool. I don’t mind. You haven’t been here that long yet.” He pushes himself to his feet, glancing towards the window. “Your grandmother’s coming back. Jisung, let’s go.”

“She can’t see you,” Hyunjin points out.

Felix shakes his head. “Well, no. But she sure can see you talking to nothing, and you probably don’t want that to happen. _Jisung_.”

“Fine!” Jisung drops the phone on the couch. “I’m keeping this.”

He holds up the stylus. Hyunjin can only nod, and then the two disappear from sight. A minute later his grandma’s letting herself into the house.

“Hyunjin?” she calls, appearing in the doorway. “What are you doing on the floor?”

“I was stretching.” Hyunjin replies, but he gets to his feet quickly. “Did you have fun?”

“Well, it’s good for gossip,” his grandma replies, disappearing again to remove her coat and scarf. “I was thinking we might do something together today. We have all the time in the world, right?”

“Right.” Hyunjin agrees, thinking about the six ghosts in the house. “We do.”

He follows her into the kitchen, and she rummages in a drawer and pulls out a plastic bag.

“Why don’t you see if you can’t find some ripe apples? They need to be picked before they go bad, and then I’m teaching you how to bake.”

“Bake?” Hyunjin repeats with a grimace. “I’m useless in the kitchen.”

She puts her hands on her hips, turning to him.

“Well, you won’t get any less useless if you don’t try.” she points out. “I’m not sending you back to the city without learning a thing or two about cooking, and baking an apple pie is as good a place to start as any.”

She’s right, and maybe it’s a good way to bond. He accepts the plastic bag and then goes to put his shoes on, forgoing a jacket.

The apple trees are in a corner of the garden. There’s just three of them, but there’s a bunch of apples on them and they’re ripe. He knows absolutely nothing about fruit trees, but he thought they wouldn’t ripen this early in the year. Whatever.

He’s leaning up to get some higher up when a voice comes from behind and he jumps, dropping the bag to the ground with a thump.

“Need a ladder?”

“You scared me,” he sighs, putting a hand to his chest as he turns to look at Mr. Lee.

The man chuckles and holds out a step stool. Hyunjin accepts it with a small thanks and sets it down, carefully stepping up. The ground is thankfully firm enough that it doesn’t wobble.

Mr. Lee picks up the bag for him and holds it so he can drop the apples into it.

“It’s been a while since kids came around to steal apples,” he says. “You’re not stealing, but it’s nice to see anyway. Neither Eunkyung nor I have the backs to do this much.”

“It’s good they won’t go to waste,” Hyunjin says, dropping a few more apples and then looking down. “D’you think that’s enough?”

“You can always pick more if they’re not,” Mr. Lee replies, and Hyunjin drops to the ground and picks up the ladder.

“Where can I put this?”

Mr. Lee motions towards the house. “The shed at the back. I’ll bring the apples in for you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lee.”

Hyunjin trots down the garden, heading around to the back. He hasn’t paid much attention to the shed, but it could definitely do with some paint. And maybe a complete rebuild. The wood looks like it’s seen better days.

There’s a small hook keeping the door closed, and he undoes it and steps inside. There’s a bunch of shelves and tools, but the windows are covered in dust and cobwebs. He grimaces and quickly sets the ladder down against the wall, casting another quick look around. The shed is cold, and he shivers. It feels like the same icy cold as when he touches the ghosts, and he almost expects to see one of them in there.

But he’s alone, and with another glance around he heads back outside, closing the latch and quickly going back inside the house.

His grandma and the gardener are chatting in the kitchen, but he seems to be on his way out.

“Thank you again, Mr. Lee,” Hyunjin offers. The man nods, and with a bow at his grandma, he leaves out the door.

“Bad vibes.”

Hyunjin jumps. Jeongin is right behind him, resting his chin on Hyunjin’s shoulder. He’s looking towards the door Mr. Lee just left through.

“Huh?”

“Bad vibes.” Jeongin repeats, and then blinks up at him. “Make some apple pie for me.”

And then he trots out of the room, leaving Hyunjin to stare after him in confusion. He shakes his head a little and goes to wash his hands, before joining his grandma by the kitchen counter. He’s quickly set to work, and learns even quicker that he’s not got a single talent for cooking whatsoever.

It’s fun though, and he laughs more than he’s done in a long time.

☀

Hyunjin spends days trying to learn more about the ghosts. They don’t offer much information about themselves from before they died, but he doesn’t know if it’s because they don’t remember, or because they don’t want to.

What he does learn is that he would have loved to be their friend if they had been alive. He thinks they could have gotten along well.

Whenever his grandmother leaves the house, they’re quick to appear. Most of them love watching the TV, but they struggle to turn it on, so he helps them set it up whenever they can. Changbin confesses once that when he grew up, censorship was high so there was barely anything to see, and he tends to sneak into the living room even when Hyunjin’s grandmother is there, fascinated by everything they watch.

They also like to push boundaries on what they can do as ghosts. They move things around and throw them and try to do the most out of the fact that they don’t have to hide around him. He doesn’t bother trying to restrict their access to the house, because it’s not like they’d care even if he did, but he does tell them to please let him sleep in peace.

Minho tends to wake him up moving the curtains around or tugging on his duvet, and Hyunjin just rolls over every time and tells him to fuck off. He’s gotten far since getting so scared he had to leave the room, but it’s not easy to be scared anymore when Minho keeps stealing his phone to watch cat videos on YouTube.

The only one he struggles a little with interacting with is Felix. Hyunjin doesn’t know if it’s because they’re technically close in age, what with Felix’ death having been the most recent, but Felix seems… sad, a lot. He participates and plays pranks and laughs, but he seems distant anyway. Hyunjin wonders if Chan knew him, or if Felix knew Chan, but he’s scared to ask either of them. If he does, it’ll seem more… real.

Besides, the way Chan had acted the last time Hyunjin tried to ask him about supernatural things happening in town had proven it’s probably a bad idea.

Instead, he tries to just brighten their day if he can. Jisung has made it his mission to try and eat food and has somewhat succeeded, even if it takes so much energy he disappears for a while afterwards.

“Make some for me too,” he says, sitting on the counter to watch Hyunjin fry eggs. It’s something that’s easy enough that even he can do it.

“No,” Hyunjin replies, cracking two eggs into the pan. “You’re not gonna be able to eat them.”

“I can!” Jisung insists. “I’ve practiced. Come on, please?”

Hyunjin sighs heavily and cracks a third egg. Jisung raises both arms in victory.

“This is stupid,” Seungmin says, sitting on the kitchen table. “I don’t know why you’re trying.”

“Because I can do it,” Jisung replies and sticks out his tongue. “You should try it too, it’s fun. Tastes like nothing, but we can work on that.”

“Sit down and eat your egg.” Hyunjin says, pushing a plate at him.

Jisung picks it up and tries to eat it. He somewhat succeeds – part of the egg flops to the floor, but he chews and makes a face.

“Tastes like ash.”

“Told you.” Seungmin says.

“Well, maybe it’s just Hyunjin’s cooking that’s shit.” Jisung says with a shrug.

Hyunjin tries to whack him with the spatula and Jisung just grins when it passes through him, dancing out of the way. He’s already a little blurred along the edges, and Hyunjin isn’t surprised when he’s gone between one blink and the next.

Seungmin hums from where he’s sitting.

“Don’t know why he keeps trying.” he says.

Hyunjin shrugs a little, joining him at the table. “If you’re stuck here forever, it’s not bad to try new things, right? It’ll get boring otherwise.”

Seungmin doesn’t look impressed.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Hyunjin looks at him. “What did you like to do when you were alive?”

Seungmin is quiet for a moment.

“I liked music,” he says eventually. “I played the guitar.”

“I don’t think we have a guitar,” Hyunjin replies, and thinks of the attic. He doesn’t want to go up there at all, but his grandma will surely know if one is up there. “But I can check, just in case.”

“You don’t have to go out of your way.” Seungmin says, but he looks milder, more interested. “It’s fine.”

“We’ll see.” Hyunjin replies. “Maybe you can teach me? I don’t play it.”

“Maybe.” Seungmin agrees, and then drifts off to have a ghostly brood or whatever it is they do. Hyunjin just shakes his head a little, wondering if he’s become a ghost therapist without realizing it.

Maybe it’s what they need though. To pass on. He doesn’t know if that’s something that can work, but he thinks about them staying in this house for years to come, long after his grandma is gone, long after he stops coming here, and it makes him sad. He doesn’t want that to happen. Maybe they’ll know how he can help them.

He doesn’t want to overstep, in any case. Doesn’t want to make them feel like he doesn’t want them there or something. He’ll have to be careful about it, but if they find out he just needs to be honest with them.

He’ll worry about it when he gets there.

☀

Turns out there isn’t a guitar in the attic, but there sure are a lot of other things. Hyunjin takes one look after climbing up the rickety stair, shining a flashlight around at all the boxes and trinkets, and quickly nopes out of there and back down. The dust makes him sneeze.

“I haven’t done anything with it in years,” his grandmother admits, when he first asks. “I just put things up there for storage, just like the office, but I haven’t been up there for a long time. You can have a look around, but I don’t recall having any instruments.”

He thinks about leaving it, he’s not got anything to do up there, but he can’t put it off his mind. He’s always been curious by nature, and she did say he could look.

“Have you ever been in the attic?” he asks Changbin later that day. They’re in his room, and Minho is trying to freak him out by pretending he’s going to drop Jeongin through the window by holding him around the ankles, so Hyunjin is trying very hard not to focus on them.

“Sometimes,” Changbin says. “It’s cozy to hide among the boxes. Less space.”

Cozy isn’t the word Hyunjin would use, but he doesn’t say it out loud.

“There aren’t any ghosts up there, right?” he asks.

Changbin gives him a look. “Tons.” he says, voice flat. “So many ghosts.”

“No! I mean,” Hyunjin flaps a hand at him. “Bad ghosts. Mean ones.”

“I can be a mean ghost.” Minho says, letting go of Jeongin while turning around.

Jeongin promptly appears in the middle of the room and flops to the floor.

“Asshole! You said you wouldn’t really drop me!”

Hyunjin drags both hands over his face. What has he done to deserve this? He’s being haunted by a bunch of idiots.

Changbin nudges him by the chin.

“It’s completely safe and free of bad ghosts,” he says mildly. “If you wanna go looking around up there you should. It might be nice. Lots of memories. Bring a friend.”

Hyunjin gives him a confused look and Changbin’s eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles. He’s so cute, Hyunjin wants to squish his cheeks.

“That Chan guy. He’s been around for years. He might be of help if you want to take a peek. Besides, you want to spend more time with him, don’t you? Go for his helpful nature and he’ll be hooked right away.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hyunjin says. On the floor, Minho and Jeongin have started to play wrestle, even if it looks like Minho is trying to strangle him.

Hyunjin looks at them for a moment before flopping onto his back with a sigh.

“I just want to be his friend, but I feel like I’m pushing him away by being me. You know? He’s _so_ nice. And he’s got great arms. And he’s practically my grandma’s second grandson. I don’t know how I can measure up.”

“You don’t have to measure up,” Changbin says, laying down next to him. “That’s the whole point. I don’t think he’d care; he doesn’t seem like someone who does from the little I’ve seen. Just be yourself and I’m sure he’ll be happy. Isn’t that a thing? Just be you.”

“Wise words from a grandpa.” Minho interrupts.

He flops on top of them, and Hyunjin feels like he’s been thrown into a freezing lake.

“Get off!”

“Shan’t.” Minho replies.

He squirms around and splays himself out on the bed like a starfish. Hyunjin squints at the arm on top of his face. Jeongin is quick to launch himself in as well. It’s not a tangible weight, but Hyunjin still lets out an ‘oof’.

“I’m not a grandpa.” Changbin complains.

“You would be if you were alive,” Minho says, dismissive. He rolls around until he’s got his arms crossed on top of Hyunjin’s chest, peering at him. “He’s right, though. Live a little, Hyunjinnie. Can you imagine regretting it because you didn’t take a shot? Don’t be like us.”

Hyunjin pauses, frowning at him.

Minho stick out his tongue. “Don’t psychoanalyze me. I’m trying to be practical.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Fine, I’ll ask him. You guys sound like you have a crush on him.”

“We would have been friends if I was alive, I think,” Changbin muses. “I wish he could see us.”

“Maybe he will some time,” Hyunjin says after a moment. This conversation is making him a little sad. “Maybe you need to haunt him for a while first, like you did with me.”

Minho sits up, grinning, and Jeongin’s head shoots up as well.

“Can we?”

“No!” Hyunjin protests. “No haunting Chan. It’s a ground rule. I don’t want him to run for the hills, thanks.”

“Fine.” Minho looks unhappy about it. “I _guess_ we can respect your wishes.”

“I knew you liked me.” Hyunjin says, pretending to pat his head.

Minho scoffs, looking a little red in the face, and pulls Hyunjin’s sock off, tossing it across the room.

“I do not.” he says and quickly leaves the room.

☀

Chan is happy to come over when Hyunjin asks, looking up at the attic hatch with some excitement.

“I’ve always wanted to have a look up there,” he admits. “I’ve helped Grandma Hwang put some stuff up there, but I’ve never really looked. Is it really alright if I do?”

“Sure,” Hyunjin says with a shrug, “she said we could, so it’s no problem. I have no idea what’s up there either. Fair warning though, it’s really dusty.”

“We’ll be fine,” Chan says, jumping up and grabbing the line to the hatch and pulling it down, then grabbing the ladder to pull it down all the way. “You go first.”

Changbin promised there would be nothing scary, but Hyunjin is still a little wary when he climbs up. The ceiling is low, so they have to stay on all fours or sitting down, and he scoots further in to leave Chan enough space to get up.

“Wow,” Chan says when he sticks his head through the hatch, and then coughs. “Okay. Yeah. This’ll get interesting.”

He climbs up and they settle around some of the boxes.

“Are we looking for anything in particular?” he asks, pulling one open to look inside.

“Nope,” Hyunjin replies, pulling another box close. “I looked up here to see if I could find a guitar, but there wasn’t one, but I got curious about everything else. I just didn’t want to sit up here on my own.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you against any ghosts.” Chan promises, winking.

Hyunjin grins and ducks his head, deciding not to comment. If only he knew.

The first box contains a bunch of old vinyls, and he looks through them, but they’re of artists he’s never heard about, so he pushes it aside in favor of another one containing a bunch of old newspaper clippings and other junk.

Hyunjin flicks through them, but they’re not particularly attention worthy. Pulling one out, he scans the text briefly, only to pause. The blurb is small, the newspaper old and faded, and it talks about how the case of the missing boy has gone cold due to no evidence.

He squints, looking for a date, but can only get one for September 6th. No year. He hums briefly, and puts it to the side, thinking of coming back to it later when Chan isn’t there. He doesn’t want to freak him out again.

“Hey, look at this,” Chan says and Hyunjin looks up. He’s holding a photo album, and smiles when he turns it so Hyunjin can see. It’s a baby photo, and Hyunjin squints.

“Oh no,” he says, mortified when he realizes it’s his. “Don’t look at that!”

“But you’re so cute,” Chan says with a wide smile. “You were an adorable baby.”

“Absolutely not.” Hyunjin protests, scooting closer to look. The writing says _Hyunjin, seven months_. He was definitely a chubby baby and he’s embarrassed. “Surely there’s better pictures to look at.”

Chan flicks through the pages. There seem to be a bunch of Hyunjin and his sister through their first baby years, and Hyunjin makes Chan stop on one page, looking at one with him on his grandma’s lap.

“I didn’t think she would keep any of these.” he says. “My mom sure didn’t.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Chan asks. “Your grandma adores you. Of course she would keep your pictures together. I don’t get why your mom of all people wouldn’t.”

“They don’t get along,” Hyunjin replies. “I don’t really know why. Maybe because grandma insisted on staying here when my mom always wanted to move?”

“Is that why you’ve not been here a lot?” Chan asks.

Hyunjin glances up to find Chan looking at him, expression soft.

“Yeah.” he says and quickly looks away. He hates feeling vulnerable. “She didn’t want me to come. It was always grandma coming to visit us, after I was like… seven or so? I came here a few times before that, at least that’s what they both tell me, but I don’t really remember.”

It makes him wonder if he ever saw the ghosts when he was a kid. He can’t recall, but he’s read that kids are more open to those kinds of things. He’ll have to ask them later.

Chan hums and finally continues looking through the photo album. Then-

“Hey, that’s me!”

“What?” Hyunjin quickly looks over his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Chan taps a photo. “That’s me, to the left.”

It’s a picture of Hyunjin as a kid, and next to him is a boy who apparently is Chan.

“No way!” Hyunjin says, surprised. “We met when we were kids?”

“I can’t remember at all,” Chan says, smiling down at it. “But I told you your grandma used to babysit me sometimes when I was a kid, right? That’s funny. She must have done it once while you were visiting.”

The writing below the picture does say _Hyunjin and Chan, Summer of 2004_. Hyunjin finds himself smiling at it. They’re both messy, holding melting ice creams in their hands, looking happy with their treats.

“Maybe there’s more.” Hyunjin says, and they grab another photo album.

There are a bunch of photographs of people he doesn’t know. His grandma’s friends, probably. There are some of Hyunjin’s parents, and a bunch of his grandma herself. Some of his grandpa, but Hyunjin doesn’t remember him. Then there are some from events in the town. Chan stops at a few, points out his parents to him, his grandparents.

There are no more of the two of them together, though.

“Guess it was just the one time,” Chan says. He fiddles with one of the pictures, but closes the album. “But that’s so funny. Can you imagine if we had been friends?”

“Maybe we’d still be in this stuffy attic right now.” Hyunjin says, trying to imagine it. He can’t, but it would have been nice.

They go back to looking through the boxes, but it’s mostly old junk like pottery and old lamps, books and more vinyls, some old clothes that probably don’t fit any of them. They finally climb down, dusty and filthy. Hyunjin realizes Chan is holding a photo in his hand once they’ve closed the hatch.

“What’s that?” he asks curiously.

Chan blinks down at the photo, and then shows him. It’s one of the pictures of some random get-together in the town. Too many people for Hyunjin to get a good look, and Chan’s thumb covers some of them.

“Can I keep this?” he asks. He looks a little nervous.

“Sure? I don’t think she would mind.” Hyunjin replies.

Chan smiles and quickly puts it in his pocket. “Great! Thank you.”

Hyunjin nods and shrugs a little to himself, dragging Chan to the bathroom so they can clean up a little, dusting off their clothes. They end up in his room after, sitting on his bed and just talking.

Chan is effortlessly funny as he talks, and he uses his hands a lot to emphasize his words. Hyunjin tries not to stare too obviously, and if Chan notices he doesn’t say. They somehow end up sitting side by side watching videos on Hyunjin’s laptop, and Chan eventually shyly shows him his Soundcloud where he’s got a few tracks uploaded.

“They’re not really finished,” Chan admits, “and it’s really embarrassing to show you, so don’t laugh okay?”

“I won’t,” Hyunjin promises, “after this I can show you the video someone uploaded of me attending a dance competition when I was in sixth grade if that helps.”

“Oh, I have to see that.” Chan grins.

“Me too.” Felix echoes.

Hyunjin jumps, seeing Felix lean against his closet. Chan sits up a little, giving him a confused look.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, sorry,” Hyunjin says, rubbing his neck sheepishly, “I don’t know what happened there.”

He sends Felix a death stare when Chan isn’t looking, and Felix simply bares his teeth in return. When Hyunjin glances at him next, Felix is looking at them – no, at Chan. He looks sad again. Hyunjin wants to ask him what’s wrong, but he can’t. Something tickles in the back of his mind, a vague recollection of something similar between the two of them, but before he can grasp onto it, Chan is turning to him looking hopeful.

“Well?”

Hyunjin has missed half the track, but he doesn’t dare admit it.

“That was awesome!” he says, because the bits he did hear he loved, “how did you do that?”

“I just threw some things together,” Chan replies, and it’s his turn to rub his neck, looking bashful. “I had some help, anyway.”

“You could definitely have made it big.” Hyunjin tells him.

Chan makes a face. “Nah. I wouldn’t be made for that kind of lifestyle, probably. But I’ll tell you if I make something new.”

“You have to!” Hyunjin agrees, poking him in the shoulder. “I’m your number one fan from now on.”

“Only now?” Chan puts a hand to his chest, looking affronted. “I thought you were my fan from day one!”

And then he laughs before Hyunjin can say anything. “Come on, show me that dance video. I wanna see.”

“It’s super embarrassing, and you’re not allowed to laugh.” Hyunjin demands as he looks it up. “I’ll have you know I was so nervous that day I nearly peed my pants.”

“I won’t laugh.” Chan promises, holding out his pinky.

Hyunjin hooks his own pinky with his, and plays the video.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he realizes Felix is gone.

☀

It’s already been nearly three weeks of Hyunjin staying with his grandma, and he realizes he’s starting to dread going back to Seoul. He doesn’t miss his friends at all. He does miss his family, but he gets to talk to them almost every day, facetiming with his sister and telling her she needs to come visit some time too.

He’s getting used to waking up surrounded by ghosts, gets used to their weird behaviors and overly familiar affection. Jisung loves trying to kiss him when he least expects it, and Minho still ropes Jeongin into trying to pull on his hair or move his things when he needs them. Seungmin has warmed up to him, and Hyunjin likes to think it’s because he’s charming.

He’s going to miss them when he leaves.

Still, no use crying over spilt milk, and he doesn’t think about the day he has to leave yet. He’s got better things to do than be sad and worried about the future.

He steps foot into the library for the first time on a Thursday, and he’s almost surprised to see that there are people there. Both older and younger people, perusing the shelves or reading the newspaper. He spots a computer setup as well, but heads over to the front desk where a librarian is looking through some books.

“Excuse me?”

The librarian looks up at him and then smiles. “Oh! Eunkyung’s grandson, right?”

“Yeah.” Hyunjin replies, offering a small smile in return. “I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you have some kind of newspaper archive?” he asks. “I realize the town doesn’t have its own newspaper anymore, but maybe from back in the day?”

“Well,” the librarian replies, removing their glasses. “Some of it has been digitalized for easy searching, so you can look that up on the computer. It depends on how far back you want to go.”

“Like fifty years?” Hyunjin replies, trying his best to look innocent.

The librarian looks at him in confusion. “Okay. You’ll have to use the old archive for some of it then. It’s through the adult section, that way.”

They point him to the right. “Come ask me if you have any more questions.”

“Thank you.” Hyunjin says quickly and heads off, looking at the labels hanging from the roofs to find where he needs to go.

The newspaper section is small. Hopefully it just means that most of it has become modernized, and not that there’s a bunch missing. He still feels a little bit guilty as he starts looking through them. He doesn’t want to be insensitive, but he does want to help his friends – and when did he even start thinking about the ghosts as his friends? If anyone knew, they would think he’s lost his mind, surely – and the only way he can think of doing that is trying to find out how they died.

He’s searched through the newspaper clippings his grandma has kept in the attic, but other than the one mention he found while he and Chan were up there, there was nothing. The missing boy mentioned could be anyone.

He spends a while trying to find anything, and honestly is about to give up when he pulls up a copy of a paper from 1973. On the front page it’s splashed in large letters, “ _Missing boy (18) still not found_.” Beneath it is a picture of Hyunjin’s grandma’s house. Hyunjin gasps and quickly looks around before reading the blurb beneath.

_Seo Changbin (18) last seen August 4 th, 1973, has still not been found. Several traces have led to a dead end. Family fears the worst. If you have seen this boy or know anything about his whereabouts, please leave a message with the Gangwon-Do police department (033) XX-XXXX-YYYY._

There’s a picture of Changbin on the front, looking serious, wearing the same school uniform as he does every time Hyunjin sees him. He quickly glances around and then brings his phone out to snap a photo before putting the paper back. He’ll study it further when he gets back home, but this is something, and he’s both happy and a little frightened to have found something. A public record on the ghosts’ existence makes it all more _real_.

He moves onto the computers next and clicks through to the archive. He tries different variations, like their names, the words ‘missing’, ‘dead’, ‘accident’, anything that might help. The archive is difficult to use and loads extremely slowly. Turns out that sometimes the internet really won’t work fast, no matter how hard he clicks the mouse.

But he lucks out. Somewhat.

There’s an article on a boy who went missing not long after Changbin, but he’s not mentioned by name, or age. Then another on how two boys went missing with only a couple of years between them. That particular article is from the early 90’s. He only gets surnames, Kim and Lee, and that could be anyone too. He hasn’t asked the ghosts about their surnames, so he can’t be sure it’s them.

Who else could it be though? He prints out the articles he finds, not wanting to be too obvious just in case someone comes over to ask him what he’s doing.

He clicks through, chin resting in his palm, only skimming the text. He’s been there for a few hours at this point and he’s ready to give up when he gets to one from only a few years ago and jumps.

Felix’ smiling face appears, and Hyunjin sits back a little to look at it properly. The article itself is from 2018, which means it isn’t old at all. He’s wearing that same constellation necklace, freckles on full display. The article states that he went missing in the early summer of 2018, and that his parents are desperate for any news.

Something uncomfortable pulls in Hyunjin’s guts.

Of course Felix’ parents would still be in the town. They can’t be very old when Felix is so young. But how can he go to them and tell them “hey, I know your son is missing. He’s actually a ghost in my grandmother’s house”? They’ll think he’s crazy, and he doesn’t want to inflict them that kind of pain.

It only makes him even more secure that what he’s doing is the right thing. If he can help the six boys, stuck in an old house, find peace… if he perhaps can help their relatives, should they have living ones, do the same… He wants to try. He can’t go home without trying.

He prints it quickly and then closes the page, sitting back in the chair. There’s only one thing connecting all of them, and that’s the house. Changbin had clearly lived in it, since it was pictured in his article, but what about the rest? What are their connections to the house? They can’t just be stuck there for no reason.

Hyunjin needs to figure this out. His head hurts just thinking about it.

He leaves the library after that, folding the printed papers and shoving them into his pockets. It’s already getting dark out and the wind bites at his cheeks. He’s happy he brought a scarf, and he pulls it up around his chin, tucking his nose into it as he makes a brisk walk down the street.

There aren’t many people out, but he spots the occasional pedestrian, and a car or two pass him by. It’s quiet, but of the cozy kind. He stops as he nears the end of the town and just takes a moment to breathe in deeply, tugging his scarf down briefly. Glancing up, he spots the stars, and that makes him pause.

He’s not stopped to think about it before. In Seoul he can’t see the stars, and he hasn’t paid much attention since he got here, but it’s beautiful. It makes him think of Felix’ freckles and necklace. It’s a cute thought.

Hyunjin thinks about how Chan probably knows a lot about the stars, since he grew up here and could see them so clearly every night if he wanted. He wonders if he might want to teach him about them, sometime. Just go out late at night to look at them, and maybe point out a few constellations to him.

The only one Hyunjin really knows is Cassiopeia, the five-pointed constellation, but he can’t see it from here.

He sighs and looks back at the road ahead, shaking his head a little at himself. It’s stupid. He’s leaving next Sunday. He needs to get a grip.

He continues back home, and wonders when he started thinking about it as ‘home’ and not just a temporary place to stay.

☀

“Did you hear about the Autumn festival?”

Hyunjin looks up from where he’s absolutely shredding his napkin to see Chan look almost nervous. They’re sitting at a table in the coffee shop, Chan with his laptop open and Hyunjin lost in his own thoughts.

Chan had asked if he wanted to come, more just to hang out than having an actual plan, and Hyunjin had agreed. He does want to spend more time with Chan, and if it means just keeping him company he’s happy to do that.

The question comes almost out of left field, and Hyunjin blinks owlishly.

“You mentioned it once,” he replies. “I think I saw some flyers in town. Why?”

“Do you wanna go?” Chan asks, brushing his hands against his jeans. “It’s next Friday.”

“With you?” Hyunjin asks, breaking out into a smile. Chan nods, and he smiles wider. “Of course. Is it fun?”

“Yeah!” Chan grins. “It’s every year. We have to head to the city, but we can drive there and back the same day. I didn’t go the past two years, but it might be nice to go this year.”

“Because it’s with me?” Hyunjin says and winks exaggeratedly.

Chan laughs. “Of course.” he says, tone sincere.

Hyunjin pauses, blinking.

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah?” Chan raises both eyebrows. “Why not? It’s more fun going with a friend.”

“Okay, okay,” Hyunjin says quickly, hoping he’s not blushing. That would be embarrassing. “When do we have to leave?”

“I was thinking a little before six pm,” Chan answers. “That leaves us plenty of time to hang out there without having to head back too late. It lasts the whole weekend, but since you leave on Sunday, you’ll probably want to have a day to pack.”

Hyunjin nods a little. He doesn’t want to think about leaving, not yet. If he can pretend it’s not happening, it doesn’t feel so real. He likes the bubble he’s living in, and he doesn’t want to un-live it, thank you very much. The future isn’t so scary if he can pretend it doesn’t exist.

“That sounds really nice. Do I have to dress nicely? I didn’t really bring any nice clothes.” He looks down at his current outfit. Well-worn jeans and a thick sweater. Not exactly event friendly.

“Chill,” Chan says with a laugh. “It’s casual. Don’t overthink it. Just dress comfortably.”

The thing is, Hyunjin likes to dress to impress if he’s going out, and he _definitely_ wants to impress Chan. During an everyday hangout anything is fine, but if they’re going to the city then he needs to look his best. He doesn’t want to embarrass Chan by looking like he got dressed half asleep in the dark. Chan always looks so effortlessly good, after all.

☀

“The Autumn festival?” Seungmin muses when Hyunjin vents his woes to the ghosts that evening. “It used to be called the Harvest fest back in my day.”

“It existed back then?” Jisung asks, surprised.

Seungmin nods. “Yeah. It was used to celebrate a good harvest year, and as a type of ritual to ensure that the good harvest would continue into the next year. Lots of games and food.”

“You sound like you lived in the 1600s, not the late 1900s,” Hyunjin says with a grimace.

Seungmin shrugs. “The town was kind of far behind then. Things have improved in heaps and bounds, but sometimes it takes longer to change something that’s been a yearly thing for so long. People don’t like change.”

“You can say that again,” Jeongin says, trying to balance on top of Hyunjin’s closet. “Change sucks. I like when things stay the same.”

“They have to change eventually,” Changbin argues. “Can you imagine if things had remained like they were back in my day? You’d _hate_ it.”

“Uhhh, I did live back in your day,” Jeongin says with a grimace. “Yeah, it was pretty shit. Glad it’s not like that anymore.”

“You guys lived at the same time?” Hyunjin asks, jumping on the chance to know more. He’s been putting together a chart, and he’s struggling with placing each of them on it.

“Sorta?” Jeongin says and shrugs. “I lived back in the 70s too. Don’t know if I met Changbin though, I can’t remember.”

“We can’t ever remember if we met when we were alive,” Minho says, lounging on Hyunjin’s bed. “Me and Seungmin lived around the same time too, but fuck if I remember seeing him before he appeared here.”

“I keep thinking you were all alive like… centuries ago,” Felix says, leaning back on his arms. “Since you act like such grandpas sometimes.”

“I take offense to that!” Jeongin proclaims.

“Okay, not you, Jeongin.”

Jeongin beams.

“We can’t all grow up with vine references and modern technology.” Minho says with an eyeroll, “some of us had to deal with payphones and telephone books, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, alright,” Felix waves him off. “Mister get-off-my-lawn-you-punks has spoken.”

Minho gives him a death stare. Felix just blows him a kiss in return.

“Anyway,” Jisung says loudly, coming over to sit on the bed as well. “We’re going off track.”

He turns to look at Hyunjin and grins. “You should totally go. It’s romantic, isn’t it? You and him, together at a festival, playing games and sharing food… Do you think there’s gonna be a Ferris wheel? What if you kissed at the top?”

“Chan is my friend,” Hyunjin points out carefully. “There’s not gonna be any kissing.”

Jisung scoffs. “Live a little. There could totally be kissing. I miss kissing.”

“What exactly have you kissed?” Minho asks, nudging him. Jisung flops to the side.

“Well, I’ve kissed you, if you want to call yourself a what rather than who.”

Minho turns red in the face. “We swore we weren’t going to talk about that.” he hisses, looking ready to strangle him.

“No, you swore it,” Jisung says easily, rolling onto his stomach and fluttering his lashes. “I never agreed to such a thing. I could yell it from the rooftop, you know? _I kissed Lee Minho_! _That’s_ romantic.”

“Ugh,” Minho sighs, looking up at the ceiling. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t.” Jisung sings.

Hyunjin is trying to wrap his head around ghosts being able to kiss. That’s _weird_. There probably isn’t a lot else to do, to be fair, so who is he to judge? Kissing Chan in a Ferris wheel doesn’t sound so far-fetched now.

Minho starts chasing Jisung around the room, and Hyunjin watches Changbin, Jeongin, Seungmin and Felix laugh at their antics and tease them, and thinks that he wouldn’t want it any different. The thought makes him a little sad, just because he knows that it _needs_ to be different. He can’t go home without having done a thing.

Changbin joins him and nudges him in the side.

“What’s up?” he asks, expression gentle.

“Nothing,” Hyunjin says and shakes his head a little. “Just thinking. Don’t worry.”

“I do worry,” Changbin replies. He seems to hesitate, but then continues, “I know what you’re trying to do.”

“You do?” Hyunjin asks, feeling his heart fall. “I’m sorry, I haven’t meant to insult you or anything-”

“You’re not,” Changbin reassures quickly. “It’s sweet that you’re trying to help. Not all of them will be as open, though.”

He looks at the other five ghosts and sighs. “Sometimes they don’t want to be helped.”

“Why not?” Hyunjin asks, confused.

Changbin is quiet for a moment, before getting to his feet. “Come on.”

Hyunjin follows him out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind himself. His grandma has gone to sleep, so he heads downstairs, Changbin right behind him. They settle in the kitchen, and Changbin glances up at the ceiling once before seeming satisfied.

“One thing is staying here,” Changbin continues, like they didn’t stop. “It’s safe here. We know what to expect, how a day is going to go. For the most part, that is. We were kind of thrown when you could suddenly see us.”

He smiles slightly, but his eyes look far away. “The thing is, we don’t know what will happen if we move on. Pass through the other side, fade away, whatever you want to call it. What can we expect when that happens? Nothing? Do we just cease to exist?

It’s a difficult question with no surefire answer. I hope you understand why that’s something that’s difficult to deal with.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Hyunjin says quickly. “I guess… I didn’t really think about it that way? But yeah, I totally get that. I think I would be scared if that were me.”

Changbin nods. “I used to be scared,” he admits. “When it was just me, and even when Jeongin arrived. But then the rest came to be over the years, and I started thinking that if I passed on, I would know they were in good hands with each other. And now with you. And that makes me feel peaceful, rather than sad or scared.”

He drums his fingers against the tabletop.

“I thought maybe I could fade away once I made my peace with that,” he says, brows furrowed. “But apparently not. I don’t know what it will take.”

“I’m trying to find out, but I don’t know where to start,” Hyunjin admits, “there’s no handbook for ghosts.”

“But there are people who believe they know what it takes,” Changbin says. “I suppose you could try any of them.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Hyunjin agrees, worrying the strings of his hoodie. “I don’t want to end up accidentally hurting any of you, though. People’s theories always have some sort of attachment to reality. Right?”

“Possibly.” Changbin agrees. “You won’t know if you don’t try. I can be your test subject.”

“That just sounds creepy.” Hyunjin says, wrinkling his nose. “This isn’t Frankenstein.”

Changbin grins. “I do like to think I’m not a monster.”

Hyunjin smiles and shakes his head. “Definitely not. There may be a monster in this story, but it’s not any of you. I don’t think I’ll ever meet friendlier ghosts.”

“You better not,” Changbin threatens, though he’s still smiling when he says it. “We want to be your only ghosts.”

“I might have to start a service if I can successfully help you move on,” Hyunjin muses. “ _Getting rid of ghosts 101_.”

“Please don’t.” Changbin groans. “That sounds so cheesy. At least have a better punchline.”

He just laughs. “It’s not like I’m being serious. We’ll see what happens. I promise not to do anything without talking to you first, though. I… quite like all of you. I think we could have been friends, if we had all lived at the same time.”

“Yeah,” Changbin agrees after a moment, “yeah, I think so too.”

☀

It’s Friday, and Hyunjin has spent most of the time fretting, cleaning his room as if Chan’s even going to see it, taking a shower, pacing the living room, and even going for a walk outside. His grandmother is endlessly amused by how he can’t seem to sit still, even hours before Chan’s picking him up.

“You remind me of when I was getting ready for dates with your grandfather,” she says, sitting by the kitchen table while he puts the clean dishes back into the cupboards. “I was just like this.”

“I’m not going on a date with Chan, though,” Hyunjin tells her patiently, “we’re going as friends.”

“I know, I know,” she replies, “but it’s still fun to see. Just relax, Hyunjin. If it’s not a date, you don’t need to worry so much. Chan will be happy as long as you’re going with him.”

“I suppose so.” Hyunjin agrees and glances at her over his shoulder. “I’m really happy he asked. I would love to see how you guys celebrate things around here.”

“It’s been a while since I last went,” she admits, hands curled around her teacup. “It’s probably a little different than it used to be. Things change all the time. I used to bring your mom when she was little, and she loved it. It was probably the only thing she really enjoyed while staying here.”

Hyunjin nods slowly, mulling it over. He’s never been properly told why his mom doesn’t want to come back. She keeps making excuses and changing the subject, but she had still been the first to suggest he come here to get away for a while. Maybe she just knows it’s a good place to stay to destress and think about other things.

The ghosts were probably not what she had in mind, but still.

“Grandma?”

She hums, and he turns around, leaning back against the kitchen counter and crossing his arms.

“Why doesn’t mom want to come back here? Why did she keep us away?”

His grandmother sighs heavily, looking his way before lowering her gaze, nails tapping against the cup.

“It’s complicated. Well… the story itself is straightforward, but feelings always throw a wrench into things, don’t you agree?”

“I guess.” Hyunjin says. She smiles at him.

“Your mom always dreamed big. Bigger than this town, bigger than the surrounding cities, the mountains, and rivers. She used to say staying here always made her feel like there was a heavy cloud hanging over here, especially when she grew up and became a teenager. She said things always felt… detached from reality. Does that make sense?”

He considers it, nodding a little. “Yeah, kinda.”

His grandmother nods. “Well. She wanted to move when she was only sixteen. I was against it, but your grandfather encouraged it. I thought she was too young. We argued, and she said a few things she… well, maybe she wouldn’t take them back. But she said she felt like I was suffocating her, like this town was suffocating her, and she wanted to get out while she could.

She left. She was sporadically in contact with your grandfather, but every time I talked to her on the phone, however brief, we only seemed to fight.”

She looks sad, and Hyunjin sits down at the table as well, covering her hand with one of his. She takes it and gives a gentle squeeze.

“She met your father, and they had you, and then your sister. That was the first time she properly took contact. Your grandfather had already passed by then, and she said she didn’t want a fight to keep me from my grandchildren. She brought you here, a couple of times, but then suddenly she changed her mind. Said she refused to come here anymore, and that if I wanted to see the two of you, I would have to travel to Seoul. I suppose coming here brought up all the bad memories. I’m old and frail, and traveling isn’t easy for me, so I wasn’t able to come see you much these past years.”

She sips her tea and doesn’t say more.

Hyunjin sits for some minutes, just thinking the words over.

“That’s it?” he finally blurts.

His grandmother laughs.

“Well, what else did you expect? Sometimes it’s not deeper than that. But I think she recognized that if you needed to get away for a while, there is no better place than this. I don’t know what it is that occupies you every day, but I hope it is helping you.” She looks at him fondly and pinches his cheek.

“Grandma,” he complains, rubbing his cheek, but he has to smile at her anyway. “I think it is, yeah. I’ll be sad to go.”

“And I’ll be sad to see you go.” she replies. “But you’re always welcome here, Hyunjin, dear. My door is open for you any time.”

“Thank you,” he says, feeling his eyes sting to his embarrassment. “I’m really grateful. I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with you.”

“You’re young,” she says, shaking her head. “You have other things to do. I get to spend time with you every morning and every evening, and that’s more than enough. Just make sure to visit me again soon.”

“I will,” he promises. “As often as I can.”

“Good.” She pushes her cup towards him. “Another cup of tea, if you would, dear?”

He takes it and stands, and is sufficiently distracted for a while, wanting to make sure he spends some time with her, and when it’s five thirty and he’s getting ready he’s more relaxed, feeling happier. His grandma just has that effect, apparently.

Still, he gets nervous again now that Chan might be coming by at any time, and he’s squinting at his outfit in the bathroom mirror, turning this way and that to make sure he looks alright. All black can never go wrong, right?

“You look _fine_ ,” Jeongin tells him, “you could dress in a potato sack and I’m sure Chan wouldn’t care.”

“Easy for you to say,” Hyunjin grumbles, messing with his hair, “you only have one outfit.”

“Vintage is in fashion these days.” Jeongin says primly, and then smacks him upside the head.

Hyunjin winces at the cold and Jeongin looks satisfied.

“Come on. Don’t think too much. Live a little.”

“Thinking is my one good quality.” Hyunjin despairs.

“Ha!” Jisung snorts, appearing only to float around their heads. “Now that’s a good one.”

Hyunjin mimes punching him and Jisung sticks his tongue out, letting his feet drop to the floor and standing in front of him, hands on his hips.

“You look perfectly fine.” he says, reaching out to tug on a lock of hair. Hyunjin goes cross-eyed trying to see, feeling the sting of Jisung pulling too hard on his scalp.

“Huh,” Jisung says, blinking, and pulls hard on a strand of hair.

“Ow!” Hyunjin reaches up to smack his hand away, and Jisung holds up the strand in victory.

“Jeonginnie! Look what I can do.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jeongin says, voice dull, but he does look a little intrigued, glancing down at his own hand.

“Don’t even think about it!” Hyunjin says quickly, backing away.

Jeongin smirks, but lets his hand drop. “Fine. Only because you’re going out, I’m totally giving it a go when you get back.”

“You’re _so_ considerate.” Hyunjin mutters, only to jump when the doorbell rings. “Oh shit.”

Jisung and Jeongin both give him a thumbs up.

“It’s not a date!” Hyunjin protests, unlocking the bathroom door and stepping out just as his grandma calls up to him.

“Hyunjin? Chan’s here.”

He quickly descends to find Chan standing in the entryway. He looks up and smiles, cheeks dimpling, and Hyunjin smiles back automatically, hurrying to grab his coat.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Chan says, and sheepishly offers a bouquet of flowers.

Hyunjin freezes to a halt to stare at them in shock. He has no clue what kind they are, only that they’re purple and pretty. Chan looks more and more embarrassed, cheeks burning red.

“Mom said I had to bring some,” he says. “That it was bad manners not to. Not that I mind, of course!” he hastily tacks on, “I hope you like them? Sorry if it’s cheesy or bad or something, I just wasn’t sure if you even like flowers and it was on really short notice-”

“No, it’s- it’s fine,” Hyunjin says hurriedly and takes them. “They’re nice. Thank you?”

He doesn’t mean for it to come out like a question, and he quickly looks down at them. They are really pretty, and he smells them curiously. The scent is faint, but sweet. He looks up, finding Chan looking both nervous and happy, rocking a little on his heels.

“I mean. Thank you. Really. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten flowers before.”

Chan looks pleased. “Good. I’m glad. That you like them, I mean.”

He scrunches his nose. “I’m so sorry, I’m shit at this.”

Hyunjin laughs in relief that he’s not the only one being a mess. He remembers suddenly that his grandma is right there and turns to her, ready to say something. Before he can, she’s shaking her head fondly and holding out a hand.

“I’ll take those and find a vase for them. You two should get going.”

“We won’t be back late, Grandma Hwang.” Chan promises as Hyunjin hands the flowers over to her.

“Just make sure you drive safely,” she says, pointing a finger at him. “No crazy driving with my grandson in your car, young man.”

“Promise.” Chan replies, giving a salute.

Hyunjin smiles and finally pulls his coat on, before pulling his grandmother into a hug. She pats his back while hugging him back, and then pulls away.

“Go on now. Have fun!”

“We will.” Hyunjin replies and gives her a quick grin, glancing towards the staircase to see all the ghosts lingering at the top, watching the scene with various fond or disgusted expressions. Minho mimes gagging and Hyunjin sneakily gives him the middle finger when he turns to the door.

They head out and get into Chan’s car, and he starts driving them where they need to be. Hyunjin leans forward in his seat, messing with the radio.

“Do you have an aux?”

“This car is probably as old as your grandmother, so no.” Chan replies. Hyunjin sticks his tongue out at him, but finds a decent radio station that plays music and settles back in his seat.

“So what is there to do at the festival?” he asks, turning slightly so he can properly look at Chan, who’s focusing on the road, but takes a brief moment to glance his way.

He’s dressed nicely, in jeans and a proper shirt with a leather jacket thrown on, looking more like a city boy than Hyunjin does. Honestly, he had half figured that everyone in this town would be wearing overalls and welly boots, and he was happy to learn he was wrong.

“Well, there’s a bunch of attractions,” Chan says, “you know, like we talked about the Ferris wheel, but there’s some other stuff too. The rides vary from year to year but usually there’s a small roller coaster and then some other rides, both for adults and for kids. And then there’s reward games where you can win stuff.”

He hesitates for a moment. “I mean, it’s… probably not as great as some of the ones you’ve been to. I mean, Seoul has Lotte World, so it’s not going to compare to _that_ , and I don’t want you to be disappointed or anything-”

“Chan.” Hyunjin interrupts.

Chan closes his mouth with an audible clack of teeth, shoulders hunching.

“I’m going to like it,” Hyunjin continues and smiles a little. “Look. I’m going because I want to and because it’s with you. It’s going to be fun, no matter how big or small it is. Please relax, okay? You don’t have to work hard to impress me.”

Chan nods a little and lets out a breath. “Okay. Yeah. Sorry, I got a little carried away.”

Hyunjin giggles and reaches out, patting his arm. “You’re fine. Seriously, don’t worry. I’m excited! Is there food?”

“A bunch of it,” Chan nods. “Lots of food stalls. God, I could spend hours just going around eating.”

“Me too.” Hyunjin sighs, happy at the thought. “Are we there yet?”

“We still have like forty-five minutes of driving.” Chan replies, eyebrow raised. “Buckle up, kid.”

“Ew.” Hyunjin makes a face. “I’m not a kid.”

Chan grins, and Hyunjin lightly cuffs him on the shoulder, not wanting to disrupt his driving too much.

He settles back into the seat and watches the landscape fly by, the darkness falling early. As they get closer to the city, they meet more cars, more life, and Hyunjin is almost reminded of home. Eventually he sees the city, lights bright even from a distance, and then there’s a smaller spot to the side, yellow lights flickering in the dark, and he can see cars parked around it and people milling about.

“Is that it?” he asks eagerly, leaning against the window. “I thought it was inside the city.”

“Nah, not enough space,” Chan replies, “but yeah, that’s it. I hope we can find a decent parking spot.”

There are already a lot of people there, even if it’s barely closing in on seven pm. Chan does find a parking spot not too far from the entrance, and then they line up with the rest of the queue. Both of them are excited, and Hyunjin remembers Chan saying he didn’t go the past two years. It must be fun to be able to again, but he doesn’t pry into _why_ Chan didn’t go before. Sometimes things get in the way.

They buy a ticket each and pass through the entrance, and Hyunjin is busy turning this way and that, trying to see everything at once. There’s suddenly so many people and things going on at the same time, and he feels a bit of a thrill and a bit like he’s back home in Seoul.

Chan laughs and grabs his arm, dragging him down the path. “Come on. Wanna ride the roller coaster?”

“Sure.” Hyunjin happily follows him, trusting Chan to lead them safely through the crowds.

They spend hours checking out all the attractions, from the roller coaster to the spinning teacups to the mini slingshot that nearly has him hurling. It’s fun, and he’s prodded into trying new snacks he hasn’t before, some tasting great and some he has to give to Chan instead because they’re not a great combo with having just been upside down on a ride.

They try out some of the games as well. Hyunjin’s not great at shooting at the targets, but he’s at least better than Chan, who can only be called abysmal when it comes to hitting things. Still, he tries and it’s a lot of fun.

He wins a prize, and looks at them before glancing at Chan.

“What do you want?” he asks.

Chan blinks at him. “Huh?”

“For a prize,” Hyunjin replies, waving a hand at the little plush toys. “What would you like?”

“It’s your prize,” Chan protests, shaking his head. “You have it.”

“Well, I want _you_ to have it.” Hyunjin insists. “Come on, please? I wanna give you one.”

“Okay, okay.” Chan considers the rows of toys before pointing at one. “The wolf toy.”

The attendant manning the booth takes it down and hands it over, and Chan smiles brightly down at the grey little wolf, hugging it close to his chest.

“Thank you.” he says earnestly, looking up, and Hyunjin finds himself flushing red.

“You’re welcome.” he replies, quickly looking away. “Uh, you wanna… another one? Or…”

“Let’s go on the Ferris wheel.” Chan suggest, helping him out, a knowing look in his eyes.

“Yes!” Hyunjin agrees quickly, “yeah that sounds great. Let’s go.”

It takes a while to wait in the queue, but then they’re finally climbing into one of the carts. It’s a small one, so there’s only space for the two of them, which is a relief. It starts to lift, slowly, and Hyunjin looks out across the dark plains and huddles close to Chan.

“Are you cold?” he worries, and Chan shakes his head.

“I’m okay,” he replies. “Don’t worry.”

Hyunjin glances at him. _He_ would be cold if he were wearing what Chan is, and maybe Chan is speaking the truth and isn’t cold at all, but also… He considers his options. Either he’ll be rejected, or Chan will accept his offer. He needs to jump into it and stop being so scared to try.

He holds out a hand. Chan looks at it, puzzled, before looking up to meet his eyes.

“Just take it.” Hyunjin insists. Chan hums, but does, and Hyunjin tucks both their hands into his coat pocket. He hears Chan laugh quietly and ducks his head, feeling his ears go red.

“You’re cute, Hyunjin,” Chan says, sliding a little closer. “Thank you. I guess I’m a little bit cold.”

“So admit it,” Hyunjin grumbles. “Stop trying to be a macho man.”

“Okay.”

Chan just sounds amused, and Hyunjin doesn’t look at him. He’ll go so red his face explodes if he does, probably. He really does feel like a kid like this. Chan just seems so more experienced and grown, even if Hyunjin is only a little bit younger than him. Maybe that’s just what living in a small town does to you. Maybe it’s the same thing it did with his mom.

They’re quiet, watching the surroundings, lights here and there, the city almost blinding this close.

It’s nice. Hyunjin feels like nothing bad can happen, sitting up here.

The ride comes to an end, and he decides to take another leap at being more confident.

“Want to do it again?”

Chan looks a little surprised, but then he smiles and nods. “Absolutely.”

They have to beg the attendant, but they don’t have to queue up again, and soon they’re off again.

Hyunjin thinks briefly about the ghosts back home. They would probably have loved coming here. It must be so different than what they were used to, even the ones who had been to visit in the years past. He’ll tell them all about it. Maybe bring them a snack. Jisung has gotten fairly good at eating stuff now, even if it does all taste like ash.

It’s totally the thought that counts, right?

They’re still holding hands, and Hyunjin gives Chan’s a little squeeze.

“Thank you for asking me to come.” he says. “I’m having a lot of fun.”

“No worries,” Chan replies easily, “I figured it was better to ask than not. I mean… I hoped I could give you a nice memory to bring back home.”

“I’ll have lots of them,” Hyunjin says. “I’ve had a really good time these past few weeks. Honestly… coming here, I figured I would kinda hate it. It’s so different from what I’m used to, and I thought that I wouldn’t get used to it at all. But I was wrong.”

He smiles, bright and genuine. “Thank you for being my friend, even if I was shitty towards you in the beginning. I didn’t mean to be an asshole.”

Chan laughs. “Hey, don’t sweat it. I get it, you know? If it were me I would be an asshole too. Here was this guy who looked like he was more at home being your grandma’s grandson than you were. I get it. Besides, you apologized, so it was all good. I hope things got better between you and your grandmother, though. It was really weird in the beginning, huh?”

“God, yeah,” Hyunjin says, shaking his head a little and smiling wryly. “I was so awkward, but she was so kind to me, even if I could barely remember seeing her. She’s great. I really want to come back again soon. Since I’m not doing much this year… I’d be happy to visit often.”

“You’re welcome to come visit me anytime, at least,” Chan says.

Hyunjin nods a little. “Are you going to stay?”

“Probably, yeah,” Chan nods a little. “I haven’t got anything planned… life sort of came to a standstill at some point. Moving on is difficult, even when I know I have to.”

“Because of your friend?” Hyunjin says softly, remembering Chan’s words from all those weeks ago.

Chan goes quiet, and Hyunjin immediately panics a little, scrambling to apologize.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have- I didn’t mean to assume-” he stammers.

Chan takes his hand from Hyunjin’s pocket, shaking his head a little.

“It’s okay,” he says, but Hyunjin doesn’t know if he means it. “It is, yeah. It’s been years, but I’m not able to get over it, I guess.”

He smiles faintly, and Hyunjin almost wants to cry.

“I’m sorry.” he says again, voice small.

“It’s not your fault.” Chan tells him, turning to face him. “It was nobody’s fault. Not that I know of, anyway.”

They’re quiet after that, and get out when they reach the ground. They walk for a while, and Hyunjin feels awful, knowing he’s ruined the mood completely. He didn’t mean to bring it up or hurt Chan in any way. He should have learned to keep his mouth shut, god. He really knows how to put his foot in his damn mouth.

Chan suddenly pulls him down to sit on a bench. Hyunjin falls down, and Chan mumbles an apology, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Look,” he says eventually, “don’t feel bad. I haven’t exactly talked to you about it, and I was being vague on purpose.”

“We haven’t been friends for that long,” Hyunjin argues, “it’s not like I need to know. You can keep things to yourself, or tell them when you feel comfortable. _If_ you feel comfortable. I’m not going to demand knowing about things that don’t have anything to do with me.”

Chan looks at him for a long time.

Then he lets out a long breath, shoulders relaxing. “Thank you.”

Hyunjin nods a little.

“I might talk about it one day,” Chan continues. “But right now I’m not… I’m not in a place where I can do so comfortably. It helps to be open about it, or so my therapist said, but it’s so _hard_.”

Hyunjin carefully puts a hand on his back, and Chan briefly closes his eyes, slowly losing his tension.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, simply watching other festivalgoers pass them by, laughing and having a good time. Hyunjin bites his tongue, wanting to speak but not being sure he should. He wants to tell Chan that he understands how he feels, despite not knowing why Chan stays. Sometimes things happen that way. Hyunjin chose to leave when bad things happened, but someone else would choose to stay, and he doesn’t think one way is more wrong than the other.

He decides to keep quiet.

Eventually Chan takes a deep breath and offers Hyunjin a smile.

“Do you want to keep going?” he asks. “We can go home, too.”

“Is there anything we haven’t done?” Hyunjin asks.

Chan considers for a minute, before pulling his phone out to pull up the festival website and scroll through the event guide. Hyunjin reads over his shoulder.

“There’s fireworks at ten,” he finally says. “If you wanna stay for that.”

Hyunjin checks the time. It’s half an hour away, so it wouldn’t be difficult to stay for it, but he’s not sure he wants to get home too late either.

“Maybe we can catch some of it?”

Chan nods and pockets his phone, getting to his feet and holding out a hand. He looks a little nervous, like he’s afraid Hyunjin won’t take it. Hyunjin proves him wrong and lets Chan pull him to his feet.

“Where to next, then?”

They spend the next thirty minutes playing more games, and Hyunjin comes away with a dog plush toy and a lollipop larger than his own head that he’s sure he’s gonna break his teeth on if he tries to eat it, and then they slowly walk towards the hill where people are starting to gather for the fireworks.

“This is the best bit.” Chan confesses as they find a spot to sit. The grass is a little damp, but a kind family hands them a spare blanket that they can use as a mat.

“Then why did you ask if I wanted to stay?” Hyunjin asks, brows pulled down in a frown. “If I had known I would definitely have said yes.”

“Because I didn’t want you to make you feel like you had to stay, if you didn’t wanna.” Chan replies.

Hyunjin shakes his head a little. “You’re too selfless.”

Chan really is too kind for his own damn good. Hyunjin is happy he said yes to staying now. The atmosphere around them is nice. People are excited, talking to each other, and he can hear children laughing, probably staying up much later than they should be. It’s what he likes about these kinds of things – everyone can be together and share in something, nobody judges anyone for anything, and it’s just a good place to be.

The first fireworks start going off then and Hyunjin jumps, grabbing onto Chan. People around them cheer and point, and Chan laughs, pulling him upright.

“Too loud?”

“Just startled me.” Hyunjin replies, tilting his head back to look up at the lights.

It’s really pretty, even if the noise might give him a headache. There are so many colors and different kinds of fireworks, and he watches it with his mouth half open, awed. Chan leans against him and Hyunjin wraps an arm around him automatically, feeling Chan’s head come to a rest against his shoulder.

Hyunjin had thought to just watch for a few minutes, but they end up staying for much longer than that. The firework display ends, and they only move to give the blanket back to the family they had borrowed it from with a lot of thank yous, then sit back down.

The stars are clear when the smoke fades, though every time Hyunjin blinks he still sees the fireworks. He thinks about how he had thought about going stargazing with Chan only a few days ago, and has to smile at how it inadvertently happened.

He’s about to ask Chan about the constellations when his phone rings.

It startles them both, and Hyunjin fumbles for a moment before digging it out. He squints at the display, the caller unknown.

He dismisses it, not one for taking calls from unknown people.

“You don’t wanna answer?” Chan asks.

Hyunjin shakes his head, getting to his feet and stretching. “Nah.”

He helps Chan to his feet, and they began walking back down the hill. Then his phone rings again. It’s still an unknown number, and he frowns, but figures he might as well try picking up. It’s probably a seller or something, but then he can at least tell them to leave him alone.

“Hello?”

There’s silence on the phone. He frowns, steps slowing. Chan continues on, and Hyunjin stares at his back.

“Hello?” he repeats.

Chan pauses, turning to look at him quizzically.

Hyunjin wants to hang up, but his feet feel frozen to the ground beneath him. He doesn’t know why, but dread is suddenly curling in his gut. It’s foreign, like it isn’t really his own feeling, but rather someone else’s. He clenches his fingers around the phone.

“Hello?” he repeats, voice merely a whisper.

The call disconnects.

“Hyunjin.”

Chan is suddenly in front of him, looking concerned, and he has to pry the phone from his fingers. “What is it? Who called?”

“I don’t know,” Hyunjin stutters, suddenly feeling like he can breathe again. He stumbles a little trying to walk forwards, and Chan quickly steadies him. “I want to go home.”

“Okay,” Chan agrees. “Of course we can go home.”

“I need to go home _right now_.”

He doesn’t know why he’s suddenly feeling this urge, but he has to go back home right away. He wants to see his grandmother, make sure she’s okay. He can’t explain the fear and worry, and Chan looks properly worried.

“Okay, okay, come on.” Chan takes his hand and pulls him along.

They powerwalk across the festival grounds and to his car, and Chan starts driving them back towards the town.

“Do you want to call her? Your grandma?” he suggests.

Hyunjin nods and fumbles with his phone, hands shaking as he scrolls to her number. He calls, and calls and calls, but he never gets through.

“She’s not picking up.”

“She could be sleeping.” Chan tries to reason. “Let’s not worry too much, okay? We’ll see when we get there, but she’s probably okay.”

Probably isn’t good enough, and Hyunjin can’t help it when tears well over. He sniffles, brushing them from his cheeks. He doesn’t understand these feelings _at all_. They’re not his own, surely? How can he go from being so happy to being so sad in a matter of minutes?

“Hey, hey,” Chan says, startled, reaching over to take his hand. “Hyunjin.”

“I’m sorry.” Hyunjin swallows hard, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m scared, I don’t- Something’s happened, I know it.”

“Who exactly called you?” Chan asks, letting go of his hand to change gears, and then taking it again.

Hyunjin uses his free hand to wipe uselessly at the tears that keep coming. “There was no one. God, I’m so stupid, this sounds so stupid, but there wasn’t anyone who talked… I just felt so much _fear_ , I don’t know-”

“Okay,” Chan says softly. “It’s okay. I understand.”

Maybe he does, or maybe he’s just trying to placate Hyunjin while thinking he’s actually lost the plot this time. But he does drive as fast as he can without breaking speed limits, even though there’s probably no cops within several miles.

Hyunjin manages to stop crying, but he’s tense the rest of the way, unable to keep from jiggling his knee. They finally reach the town, and minutes later they’re pulling up outside the house.

He pushes the door open and fumbles with the lock of the gate before getting it open, almost running up the path. The front door is locked, and he frantically pats his pockets down for his key, jamming it into the lock and pushing the door open.

The entryway lights are on.

He can faintly hear the TV from the living room.

Static rings in his ears, muting Chan’s voice behind him.

His grandmother lies very, very still at the bottom of the stairs. Her head is turned away from him, so all he can see is that the tight bun she usually keeps her hair up in is undone. She’s dressed for bed, looking for all the world like she’s sleeping.

He steps forward and his knees buckle, bringing him down to the floor, reaching out a shaking hand.

“Grandma?”

He doesn’t dare touch her.

“Grams?”

Chan steps past him, kneeling down, face tight and pale as he reaches out to feel along her neck. Hyunjin can’t- he doesn’t want to know-

Chan’s head whips around to look at him, and his mouth opens, but Hyunjin doesn’t hear him speak.

His expression turns frustrated and he moves, shaking Hyunjin by the shoulders.

“Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin gasps, feeling like he surfaces from water.

“Hyunjin, she’s alive,” Chan says, and Hyunjin stares at him, eyes wide.

“What?” he breathes.

“She’s alive, she’s breathing,” Chan continues, “you need to call an ambulance, okay? Call them. Quickly.”

Hyunjin nods, grateful for something to _do_ , and he manages to call, to explain where he is and what has happened. Chan has brought out his own phone and is talking to someone, his hand on his grandma’s back.

The emergency service worker he speaks to asks him to check for a bunch of things, and he responds as best as he can, but honestly, if asked about it later he wouldn’t be able to recall it to save his life. He does remember explaining that he sees blood by her head, and that her leg looks wrong, but that might be because he can’t take his eyes away and the image burns itself to his mind.

Someone else comes through the door at some point, and Hyunjin realizes Chan is no longer talking on the phone. The woman immediately takes over, and he realizes it must be Chan’s mom.

She’s efficient, checking his grandma over and taking the phone from him to talk to the emergency service for him, and Chan moves to Hyunjin’s side, pulling him slightly away, holding him tightly in his arms.

“Is that your mom?” he asks, voice croaky like he’s been yelling.

“Yeah,” Chan says softly, “she can help.”

“She works at the medical center.” Hyunjin recalls. Chan hums, rubbing his back.

Things turn into a blur. An ambulance arrives at some point, and Chan makes Hyunjin sit down in the stairs to give the paramedics space. Chan’s mom talks to them, and he watches them work. His grandma is so _still_. He’s not seen her like that at all since arriving. He wants her to sit up and smile at him and pinch his cheeks.

He only starts really understanding what’s going on when she’s moved onto a stretcher and they start taking her out of the house.

“Wait! I have to go with her-”

“Will you be okay to go alone with her?” Chan asks him, concern written all over. “I’ll follow, but I’ll be later-”

Hyunjin just nods. He has to, he can’t let her go alone.

He turns back once while he heads through the door. At the top of the stairs he spots Changbin flickering in and out of sight and he wants to yell, to scream, but then he disappears and Hyunjin has to go.

They get him situated in the front with the driver, while the other paramedic stays in the back with his grandmother.

The drive to the hospital feels like it takes both five seconds and an eternity. It’s in the city, because she’s too badly hurt to be treated at the medical center in town. He follows them when they roll her into the hospital, but he’s told to sit down in a waiting room because they have to immediately take her for scans and possible surgery.

Someone comes by, asking for her details, and he tries his best to answer. They ask if he’s next of kin, but he’s fairly sure that’s his mom, despite their bad relationship. They say they’ll call her, and he can only nod. He doesn’t know how she’ll react when she hears, but he can’t think about that now anyway. There’s too much going on in his brain at once.

“Hey.”

He looks up to see Chan, who offers a small smile and sits down next to him.

“Mom’s just parking the car. Have you heard anything?”

“Nothing yet,” Hyunjin replies. He finally shifts in his seat, his body stiff. How long has it been? “I hope… I hope she’s okay.”

“I’m sure she will be,” Chan tries to soothe him. “She’s strong.”

“But if she fell down the _stairs_ -”

“Hey, no, none of that,” Chan says firmly, wrapping an arm around him, “no what ifs or buts. You can’t think that way.”

Hyunjin just nods. Chan’s mom arrives a few minutes later, and she offers Hyunjin a smile and sits down on his other side.

“Hi, Hyunjin,” she says, and her voice is so gentle. Hyunjin can feel his lip wobble. “I’m Chan’s mom. I’m sorry this is the first time we properly meet.”

“It’s okay,” he says, voice weak, “it’s, uhm, it’s nice to meet you. Thank you f-for-”

His voice cracks, and she covers his hand with hers, giving a squeeze.

“It’s alright. Just take a deep breath.”

He nods, focusing on just breathing for a moment.

“How- do you know anything?” he asks her, a little desperate. Her expression is soft when she looks at him and shakes her head.

“Nothing I can tell you,” she replies. “But I’ll be here until we do. Have you talked to your parents?”

Hyunjin shakes his head. “No. They said they’d call my mom. I… I don’t want to call until we know anything. It’s scary.”

She nods, and they wait in silence. Hyunjin is so, so grateful for these people. They have no obligation to stay with him, to help him, but that they’re doing it means a lot. Without them, he’d probably break down or something. Especially Chan’s mom, who doesn’t even know him, yet still tried to help his grandma, is staying here to support him, driving all this way for that.

Finally they’re approached by a doctor.

“Family of Hwang Eunkyung?”

Hyunjin quickly stands, hands clenched together.

“Yeah. I’m- I’m her grandson,” he says, “is she okay?”

The doctor looks at him over the rim of his glasses, expression serious, but it’s hard to tell one way or another what he’s about to say.

“She must have fallen from quite a height,” he explains. “She broke her right hip, as well as her right arm, and there was some internal injuries. She also received a head injury. I won’t lie to you, Mr. Hwang. It is serious. She’s currently in intensive care, where she’ll remain for a time.”

Hyunjin doesn’t know if he’s being told everything, but even what he has heard is making his stomach sink. He’s almost scared to ask, but he has to know.

“But she’ll be okay?”

“It’s hard to say,” the doctor replies, and he looks sympathetic, “we just have to take it one day at a time.”

“Can I see her?”

“Not yet,” the doctor replies. “We’ll have to get her into surgery when she’s stable enough, and right now she’s too badly hurt for any outsiders, in case of infection. I suggest you go home and rest. Call the hospital for an update. We’ll call the next of kin in case of any serious changes.”

Hyunjin swallows hard and manages to nod a little. The doctor gives each of them a nod and walks away, and Hyunjin stumbles back into his seat.

He starts to cry. It overwhelms him before he can stop it and he sobs, covering his mouth with a hand. He can’t lose his grandma. He’s finally feeling like he has her, like he can feel at home with her, and now- He can’t lose her.

Chan’s mom rubs his back gently, helpfully holding out a tissue, and he takes it, uselessly wiping at his eyes with shaking hands. Chan rubs his back, a soothing back and forth motion. Hyunjin just keeps crying. He really can’t help it, feeling like he’s going to cry himself empty, sobs shaking him to the core. They don’t say anything, or rush him, just hold him and let him cry.

Finally, after what feels like ages, the tears slow to a stop. He take a few deep breaths and then blows his nose grossly into one of the numerous tissues he’s been handed.

“Thanks,” he manages, voice thick. His eyes are sore and his throat hurts.

“Of course,” Chan’s mom says. “Let’s go back home. You can stay with us if you don’t mind sharing Chan’s room.”

“I don’t want to intrude.” Hyunjin replies.

“You’re not,” Chan insists, “you shouldn’t be alone. We’d be happy to have you there.”

Hyunjin nods and almost starts to cry again. They stop by a vending machine on the way out, and Chan’s mom presses a soda bottle and a chocolate bar into his hands with strict orders to consume both. They get into her car, and Hyunjin leans against the window as they drive, nibbling the chocolate.

His mind briefly drifts to the ghosts, his friends, and he has half a second to wonder what had happened, if they… He doesn’t want to think that they were involved with his grandma’s fall. It’s possible she slipped and had an accident, but the way Changbin had flickered in and out of sight had been so weird.

He forces the thoughts from his mind, listening to Chan and his mom chatting in the front. He’s glad they’re letting him be quiet, and he closes his eyes, but is unable to sleep.

He’s not actually been to Chan’s house yet. Chan had pointed it out to him of course, but they never got around to him visiting properly. It’s a cozy house, and Chan’s dad calls out a greeting when he hears them come in.

He appears in the doorway wearing an apron, and he smiles at them.

“Come have some food,” he says.

Hyunjin isn’t sure if he’s hungry, but he doesn’t want to say no to such hospitality. Chan holds him back when his parents disappear into the kitchen.

“If you want to just go up to my room, that’s okay,” he says. “I can bring some food up if you’d like. Or if you’re not hungry at all, that’s okay too. Dad just tends to think food is the answer to everything.”

“Normally I’d agree,” Hyunjin says with a chuckle. “I really appreciate it. I… could eat, but. I think maybe I’d like to go to your room?”

“Of course.” Chan nods. “It’s up the stairs, first door on the right-hand side. Want me to follow you up?”

Hyunjin quickly shakes his head. “It’s okay. I think… a few minutes on my own would do me good.”

“Yeah, of course,” Chan says again. “I’ll come up in a few minutes with some food, and then you can have all the time you need.”

“I don’t want to chase you from your room.” Hyunjin says.

Chan just smiles. “I can promise you’re not.”

Hyunjin hesitates, and then hugs him. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there.”

Chan hugs him back, steady and warm. Hyunjin could hug him forever. “Any time. I’m glad I could be there too.”

Hyunjin trudges upstairs and opens the door that should be Chan’s. Immediately he has to smile. There’s a bunch of pictures and posters on the walls. He steps into the room and shuts the door behind him. There’s a lot of medals and trophies; clearly, he used to participate in a sport of some sort. Books and CDs line numerous shelves, and a desk has his laptop and a random assortment of trinkets.

He carefully sits down on the foot of the bed and just takes a moment to breathe, closing his eyes. He still can hardly believe what has happened these past twelve hours. None of it feels real. He feels the press of tears again and covers his face, willing them back. No more crying. He’s shed enough tears. God, he needs to call his mom. She’s going to call sooner rather than later, and he’s surprised she hasn’t already.

Someone knocks on the door and Chan pokes his head inside, then steps further in when Hyunjin sends him a shaky smile. There’s a plate in his hands, and he offers it. Hyunjin takes it. It smells delicious, and he realizes he’s hungrier than he thought.

“It’s okay if you don’t eat,” Chan promises, “my parents understand.”

“I still don’t know how to thank you enough.” Hyunjin confesses.

Chan shakes his head, sitting down next to him. “You don’t have to thank us. We’re doing what anyone would when there’s a friend in need. And my parents know Grandma Hwang well. They would never refuse to help her or you.”

Hyunjin nods. Before he can say anything else, his phone starts ringing. He jumps, pulling it out to look at the display with dread. It’s his mom, of course.

“Here.” Chan takes the plate from him. “Want me to go?”

“Can you stay?” Hyunjin asks. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course I can.” Chan smiles and squeezes his hand.

Hyunjin takes a deep breath and answers the call.

“Hi, mom.”

“Hyunjin? Are you okay?”

Her voice is gentle, and he closes his eyes.

“No,” he admits quietly. “I’m really not.”

“I talked to the hospital,” she says, “they said… she’s in bad shape. That you had found her. Oh Hyunjinnie, I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“It’s okay,” Hyunjin says, even if it isn’t, “I wasn’t alone. Chan was there, and his mom helped… it’s… mom, I’m _scared_.”

“I know,” she says gently, “I know. I’m sorry, I wish I were there with you. I’ll come down, okay? I’ll come down as soon as I can. Or do you want to come home? You’re supposed to, in a few days anyway.”

Hyunjin seriously considers it. He does want to go home, to hug his mom and have her tell him things will be okay like when he was a kid. But at the same time, he can’t leave when his grandma is in the hospital. He has to stay, so he can visit her often and try his best to make sure she makes it.

“I have to stay,” he says, “I need to stay, mom. I can’t go home when she’s… I have to stay here.”

“Okay,” she says, and he’s actually surprised, “of course. I understand. You mentioned this Chan, and his mom. Will they be able to help you?”

Hyunjin looks at Chan, who meets his gaze and smiles.

“Yeah. They’re letting me stay with them. They’ve helped a lot.”

“I would like to talk to Chan’s parents,” his mom says, “just to make sure of everything. Is that alright?”

“Oh, yeah, uhm, of course. I’ll get you their number,” Hyunjin replies. “I… I miss you, mom. A lot.”

“And I miss you,” she says softly, “so much. You’ve never been away this long before, it’s so weird. I hope things have been alright. That it has helped you, even if it hurts right now.”

“It has,” Hyunjin says, smiling a little, “I’m really happy I went.”

“Good. That’s all that matters,” she says. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning, okay? Don’t hesitate to call or text if you need to. You’ll always be my baby, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin starts crying again. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” she says gently, “try to get some rest.”

“I will.” Hyunjin promises. They hang up, and he stares down at his phone, feeling drained, but a little better now that he’s heard her voice. His mom has that effect. She’s always made him feel so sure she’s right when she says things will be okay, and he hopes it will this time too.

He sighs, and Chan pulls him into a hug again. Hyunjin leans against him, closing his eyes.

“Did you hear what you need to?” he asks, and Hyunjin nods.

“Yeah. I think so. She wants to talk to your parents.”

“Text her their number,” Chan suggests, and writes them down for him in a text.

Hyunjin sends it, and then Chan is urging him to eat some, before showing him to the bathroom so he can get ready for bed. He’s loaned a t-shirt and pajama pants, using his finger to brush his teeth with some borrowed toothpaste, and then stares at himself in the mirror.

His eyes are still swollen and red, the rest of his face pale. He looks like one of the ghosts, and that makes him chuckle a little before making a face at himself. Jesus, this is fucked up.

He shuffles back to the bedroom, to find that they’ve moved a thin mattress and a sleeping bag into the room, and Chan is already in it, scrolling on his phone.

“What are you doing?” he asks, surprised. “I’m not taking your bed.”

“Guest privileges,” Chan replies easily, “just take the bed, Hyunjin.”

“But-”

“Seriously. I mean it.” Chan says, lowering his phone to look at him. “Just get in the bed. It’s okay. Don’t overthink things.”

Hyunjin wants to protest, but finally he nods and crawls into bed. Laying down feels like heaven, and he lets out a long sigh. Chan leans up and turns off the nightlamp, and they fall into silence.

He thinks he’ll fall asleep quickly, but for some reason he ends up staring up at the ceiling in the dark. It feels weird, being in a foreign house. He hears Chan’s parents moving around as they get ready for bed, but it’s not the same as hearing his grandmother, or the whispers of the ghosts as they move around him.

He hesitates for a long time, but then rolls over to peer over the edge of the bed.

“Chan?”

Chan shuffles a little. “Hm?”

“Can you… do you mind if… can we share the bed?”

He sees a vague outline of Chan sitting up a little, and a moment later the lamp turns on. Chan squints at him under the sudden brightness, and Hyunjin squints back.

“Of course,” Chan shuffles out of the sleeping bag and climbs into the bed, shuffling under the duvet. “Actually, do you want me to get a blanket or something?”

“No, we can share,” Hyunjin replies, feeling a little more at ease. “Thank you.”

“Any time.”

The light is turned back off, and they lie down with their backs to each other. Hyunjin thinks and thinks and thinks, worrying about every little movement he makes.

“I can hear you thinking.” Chan remarks.

“Sorry.” Hyunjin mumbles.

More shuffling as Chan turns over to face him. “Hey, come here.”

His hand tugs lightly on Hyunjin’s arm, and Hyunjin decides not to overthink it, rolling onto his other side to face Chan as well. “Want me to hold you?”

“I feel like such a baby.” Hyunjin says, unable to look up even in the dark.

“You’re not. If it were me, I’d need comfort too.” Chan says.

He urges Hyunjin closer, until they’re pressed close together. Hyunjin tucks his face against Chan’s chest, moving a little further down the bed so he can do so comfortably, and Chan wraps an arm around him, running a hand through his hair and stroking softly.

“Thank you.” Hyunjin whispers.

Chan’s hold tightens slightly. “You’re more than welcome.”

☀

Hyunjin manages to fall asleep after that, and apparently sleeps like the dead, because he only wakes up when Chan is shaking him awake, looking like he’s been awake for hours already.

“Huh?” Hyunjin mumbles, blowing hair out of his mouth, and quickly brushes a hand over his mouth because he’s fairly sure he’s been drooling. “Shit.”

Chan just laughs at him. “Relax. I just thought I should wake you. You’ve been sleeping for ages. You probably needed it.”

“I’m so sorry,” Hyunjin says, smiling sheepishly as he forces himself to sit up. “I really love sleeping.”

“I’m starting to realize,” Chan says, chuckling. “Come on. There’s still some breakfast left. Want to borrow some clothes?”

Hyunjin nods and Chan rummages through his closet to pull out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“They might be a bit short,” he muses, staring at the pants, “your legs are way longer than mine.”

“It’s more than okay, I’ll take them.” Hyunjin says and Chan nods, putting them down on the bed.

“I’ll wait for you downstairs.” he says, and then Hyunjin is left alone.

He looks around the room, momentarily confused as to why he’s there before he remembers. His grandmother. Right. He takes a deep breath. He’ll have to call the hospital later to ask how she is. He wants to check up on her, and can only hope she’s more stable. If she weren’t, his mom would already have called him, right?

He forces the thoughts from his mind and quickly dresses, dropping by the bathroom to pee and wash his hands and face. He’ll have to ask if he can borrow the shower later unless they end up going back to the house at some point. He doesn’t know if he wants to, but he can’t avoid it forever.

Heading downstairs, he finds Chan and his dad in the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Chan’s dad says, and stands to hold out a hand.

Hyunjin quickly takes it and shakes it. “Hi. Nice to meet you, Mr. Bang. Thank you for letting me stay.”

“Of course,” he replies, “we can’t not help one of Chan’s friends. Please, sit down, I’ll find you something to eat.”

Hyunjin sits, feeling a little out of place, looking to Chan for help.

“Relax,” Chan murmurs, “just make yourself at home.”

He nods and takes a deep breath, thanking Chan’s dad quietly when he puts down a breakfast bowl.

“Your mom called earlier this morning,” Chan’s dad explains when he rejoins them at the table, “I think she was worried about you.”

“She’s kinda overprotective,” Hyunjin admits, “I hope she wasn’t rude?”

“Not at all,” he reassures, “just wanted to know if we would be willing to help you. Which we will, of course. You can stay here for as long as you need. If you do want to go back to the house, you’re still welcome here any time.”

“Thank you,” Hyunjin is so confused by how gracious this family is, but so grateful for it all the same, “you guys are being so nice. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Chan says and Hyunjin looks at him, “this is what friends do.”

Hyunjin just nods and hopes he doesn’t start crying again. He’ll have to repay them somehow, no matter what they say. He’ll figure something out.

After breakfast, he retreats outside. They have a porch swing, and he settles there while looking up the number for the hospital to make the call. He’s redirected at first, but then reaches the intensive care unit, and asks after his grandmother.

“The surgery she had last night was successful,” the nurse he talks to says, and his shoulders sag in relief, “she might need more, but they’re focusing on trying to stabilize her first. Her vitals are looking better.”

“Thank you,” Hyunjin says, feeling like that’s all he’s saying at the moment, “I really appreciate hearing that. Is it okay if I call again later today?”

“Call at any time,” the nurse reassures, “someone will be able to answer any questions you may have.”

He feels a little lighter when he hangs up, if she’s doing even a little better than she was when she was brought in. He sits there for a time, just breathing in the fresh air with his eyes closed. He still can hardly believe everything that had happened in just 24 hours. He had been so happy, being at the festival with Chan, and then the dread with the phone call, and the devastation he had felt upon finding his grandmother by the stairs.

He looks down at his phone and opens the call log. There’s the call with the hospital and the one with his mom, and then one with Chan is right before that.

He frowns.

Where is the call he received at the festival? There should be one around 10pm, but there’s nothing. He clutches the phone tightly and wonders. It makes no sense.

Almost like the ghosts.

He has to go back to see them. Talk to them, see if they can’t explain what had happened. They must have been present, right? Changbin had flickered in and out of view, after all, even if it was in a way Hyunjin had never seen before. He’ll need to go back. Soon. Just not right now.

Eventually Chan comes out to join him, holding out a blanket. Hyunjin takes it and spreads it across his lap, then over Chan’s when he sits down as well.

“Did you call?” he asks, and Hyunjin nods.

“Yeah. She’s doing a little bit better. It’ll probably take time, but… I’m feeling hopeful.”

“That’s a relief.” Chan says with a sigh, fiddling with the blanket, “I can’t believe it happened, still. If you want to go visit her when it’s possible, I’ll be happy to drive you.”

“You’re a good friend, Chan,” Hyunjin says and Chan smiles a little.

“It’s the least I can do.”

☀

Hyunjin doesn’t return to the house that day, or the day after that. He’s scared to, without really knowing why. Of what he’ll see, maybe. He remembers the blood and it makes him feel nauseous to think about. Nobody will have cleaned it, right? Instead he does his best to help Chan’s family with anything they might need, and calls or texts his mom regularly, and calls the hospital at least twice a day to get updates.

(He’s also a little scared to face the ghosts, but he can’t admit that to anyone.)

Chan and his family are really kind to him, keeping him fed and helping him sort out his thoughts. He eventually dares to voice out his worries, and Chan’s mom is so warm and nice when she sits down with him and says she’ll go around the house to check how things are, and clean up anything that might need to be done. He doesn’t want to burden her, but she’s insistent, and she makes it seem like it’s no bother at all.

She leaves, but comes back only twenty minutes later, coming into the living room where Hyunjin and Chan are playing cards by the table.

“I met the gardener,” she says, coming to sit down by them. “Mr. Lee, right?”

Hyunjin nods, and she does as well.

“He had already cleaned everything, made sure things are in good shape. He assured me there wasn’t much.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin lets out a breath of relief, “good. I’m- I’m glad.”

Chan’s mom looks like she understands. “He sent his best well-wishes for your grandmother, and says he’ll look after the house if you’re reluctant to go back for the time being.”

“That’s kind of him,” Hyunjin says, feeling a little bad that he’s not spent much time getting to know the old man. He and Hyunjin’s grandmother must be close, since he’s worked for her for such a long time, “I’ll have to thank him.”

Chan’s mom looks at him for a minute, looking like she wants to say something. Chan frowns, glancing at her.

“What is it, mom?”

“Nothing,” she says and shakes her head, standing from the chair, “don’t worry about it, Chan.”

He nods, though his brow is furrowed as he watches her go.

“What’s wrong?” Hyunjin asks, confused.

Chan shakes his head too. “I’m just thinking,” he says and grins.

“Dangerous.” Hyunjin teases and Chan laughs and flicks a card at him.

Now that Hyunjin knows returning back to the house is safe, he steels his resolve. Maybe he won’t sleep there the first night, but he needs to go back and at least spend some hours there. At least to get some clothes and double check that everything really is alright. As much as he trusts Mr. Lee, some things he just has to see for himself.

“Want me to come with you?” Chan asks when Hyunjin tells all this to him and his family during breakfast.

“It’s alright,” Hyunjin says, “the walk will do me good. I’ll come back before dinner if that’s okay.”

“Of course! You’re always welcome,” Chan’s dad says, and looks like he means it, too.

Hyunjin smiles gratefully, humbled by their kindness.

He departs after breakfast, with orders from Chan to text him sometime while he’s there and to call if he needs any kind of help. He seems a little worried, but Hyunjin doesn’t understand why. Sure, he would love to have Chan there, but for what he’s about to do he can’t have any witnesses, unless they’ll think he’s lost it completely.

The walk does feel nice, and he’s a bit slower than he could be, tempted to make stops along the way just to drag it all out. What surprises him the most is when he’s stopped by several people who knows he’s his grandmother’s grandson, and express their well-wishes, hoping she’ll get better soon. They must have heard what happened, the town is too small for anything else, and he’s grateful for them, thanking each of them and promising he’ll extend their greetings to his grandmother when he can.

Eventually he can’t drag it out anymore and he finds himself at the gate to the house, staring up at it. It’s not any different, he shouldn’t be dreading it as much as he is. He can’t see Mr. Lee at all, but then there’s not much to do in the garden since autumn seems to have set in with a vengeance. When he steps through the gate he notices the apples have turned rotten.

Finally, he sighs and walks to the door, unlocking it and taking a deep breath before stepping through.

For a horrible moment he feels like he’s back to that night, seeing his grandma’s body at the bottom of the stairs, but then he blinks and there’s nothing. Everything is clean, normal. His hand shakes a little as he flicks the lights on.

Spending a minute just listening, he can’t hear anything. He slowly moves through each room of the house, but there’s nothing. Going up the stairs, he enters his room and turns the lights on there too. Everything seems to be like he left them, and he considers what he should bring with him. Maybe he should just stay here, sleep here at night. He doesn’t want to exhaust Chan’s hospitality, but he also _really_ doesn’t want to stay here alone. Not yet.

Part of him thinks that he might wake up to the ghost of his grandmother hovering above him. He won’t be able to survive that if it happens.

He sits down on the edge of the bed, running his hands over the sheets. God. He had never thought things would turn out this way.

There’s movement from the corner of his eye and he whips his head around. Changbin hovers in the doorway.

For a moment they just look at each other.

Suddenly Hyunjin doesn’t know what to say. He had sort of had it all planned out, but that goes flying out the window.

Changbin seems to hesitate, not sure whether to approach or not.

“Hyunjin. Where have you been?”

“Not here.” Hyunjin replies. “Where have _you_ been?”

“…Not here.” Changbin says.

He finally comes closer, and sits down on the edge of the bed when Hyunjin doesn’t stop him. He plucks at his own uniform, fiddling with a button.

“Was it you?”

The words come tumbling out of his mouth before he can stop them. Changbin freezes, hands tightening around the button.

Hyunjin’s hands clench into fists.

“Was it any of you? Did you push her?”

“No!” Changbin says, looking shocked. “We would never! We can’t even touch her.”

Hyunjin gets to his feet, beginning to pace back and forth.

“You’ve gotten better at using and touching objects,” he says, “you can materialize in and out at will, you can throw things and Jisung can even eat food, for fuck’s sake! I saw you-”

He chokes a little, turning away trying to compose himself.

“I saw you that night.” He turns back to look at Changbin, who still looks shocked, “I saw you at the top of the stairs. You were flickering in and out of sight, but you- you were there. You were _there_.”

His eyes burn and he has to swallow hard, trying not to cry. He can’t let himself cry, not in front of Changbin. “Why didn’t you- you could have-”

“We couldn’t have done anything,” Changbin tells him quietly, “we’re _ghosts_. We’re dead, Hyunjin. I know… maybe you need something to blame. Someone. And I can be that if you want to, but it’s not going to make you feel any better. That night… you don’t understand.”

“Then _make me_ understand.” Hyunjin pleads. “What happened? What did you see? Did she trip?”

“I don’t know,” Changbin replies and Hyunjin wants to scream. He’s being so difficult.

“All of us… we were in the house, out of sight of your grandmother, of course. I don’t know how, but they started disappearing. Felix first, then Jisung. Minho and Seungmin were next, then Jeongin, until it was just me left.”

“They disappeared?” Hyunjin says, surprised, forgetting to be upset for a brief moment.

Changbin nods. “You know… I don’t know how to explain, but… you know when the television glitches? Or your computer screen?”

“I guess.” Hyunjin says slowly.

Changbin grimaces, but continues, “it was kind of like that. Like their forms glitched. Then they were gone. It felt like there was something in the house, but I’m not sure what it was. It felt like I couldn’t make myself move, or like I had stopped working. I heard your grandmother scream.”

Hyunjin nods a little, though he doesn’t want to hear it.

“Anyway,” Changbin continues quickly, “I wanted to try and see what was happening. It was hard, but I was able to see that she was hurt, but I was starting to… glitch out too. Let’s call it that. But I kept thinking you needed to come home to help her. I didn’t know how to contact you, but I was trying really hard to reach out to you.”

“The phone,” Hyunjin says, blinking, “I got a call. There was no one on the other end, but I felt fear like I’ve never felt before.”

Changbin nods thoughtfully. “That must have been me. I felt like I managed to reach you somehow, even if I don’t understand how. I was gone for a while then. Floating. When I managed to drag myself back, you were there, as well as your friend, Chan, and they were taking her away. Is she okay?”

“She’s… not doing good,” Hyunjin says. He has a lot to think about now. Nothing makes sense. “But she’s doing a little better.”

“Good.” Changbin says, relieved. “I’m so glad to hear it. I’ve been worried.”

“Where is everyone else?” Hyunjin asks and Changbin hesitates.

“They’re still not here. I can feel them, but not clearly. I think they’ve been gone since they disappeared that night. When you arrived, I was able to feel that. I latched onto you and it helped bring me back. I hope the others will be able to too if you remain here long enough.”

“I hadn’t planned to stay.” Hyunjin tells him and Changbin quickly looks up, expression nearly pleading.

“Please. Stay for a little while. I’m worried about them, it’s… it’s weird being alone. Frightening.”

“I can be here for a few more hours,” Hyunjin decides, chewing on his lip, “I’m going to pack some stuff.”

“Are you leaving?” Changbin asks. Hyunjin shakes his head.

“I’m staying with Chan for a little while. I didn’t feel like I could stay here, with everything going on. It’s scary.”

“It is scary.” Changbin agrees. “But we’d protect you.”

“You couldn’t protect my grandmother,” Hyunjin bites out, trying to ignore how it hurts to see his face fall, “so you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe _that_.”

“Hyunjin-”

“Hyunjin!”

They both jump. Jisung runs into the room, arms held out, and tries to hug him. It doesn’t work, but he still tries to keep latching on.

“I was so worried! I couldn’t see you! I couldn’t see anyone! Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

Jisung pulls back, watching him with wide eyes. “Where have you been? I haven’t felt your presence in forever.”

Hyunjin doesn’t want to get into it again. He’s tired.

Changbin reaches out and pulls Jisung down to sit next to him.

“I’ll tell you later,” he promises, and Hyunjin doesn’t know how Changbin can be so nice even after Hyunjin has been so cruel to him, these past few minutes. “Give Hyunjin some space, Jisung.”

Jisung looks reluctant, but he nods a little and clutches Changbin’s hand.

“Where is everyone else then? This is weird, even for you guys.”

“They’ll probably come back soon,” Changbin replies, looking thoughtful, “if you came back just now. They might not be far away.”

Hyunjin tunes them out a little, grabbing the backpack he had brought with him when he arrived. It should fit everything he might need for a few days away. They don’t bother him for a few minutes, which is nice, and when he finally turns after cramming a pair of socks inside, they’re just sitting there quietly, watching him.

“That’s a little creepy.” he points out mildly. Jisung puffs up his cheeks.

“Well, I want answers,” he says stubbornly, “so if I have to follow you and stare creepily until you do then I will.”

“I already said I’ll explain later,” Changbin says, tone exasperated, “come on, Jisung.”

Jisung huffs, looking properly frustrated, but he nods reluctantly. Still, he seems like he’s decided, and when Hyunjin leaves the room to go to the bathroom, both of the ghosts follow him. Jisung practically looms, apparently trying to be menacing or something.

Hyunjin is about to tell him off, but before he can he feels a cold breeze by his ear and a voice whispers, “boo.”

He yelps and jumps, turning around to find Minho smirking at him. Minho looks tired, is the first thought that hits him. Who could have known ghosts could look tired? Still, he looks pleased that he managed to scare him.

“I’ve still got it.” he says, satisfied.

“You’re so funny.” Hyunjin mutters, shoving his toothbrush into the backpack, “welcome back from… the dead or whatever.”

“Well, that’s rude. Who pissed in your cereal this morning?” Minho says, hopping onto the sink.

Hyunjin scowls at him, but ends up turning to Changbin. “Does this mean everyone else is back?”

Changbin considers, turning his head slightly. “Jeongin is somewhere in the house,” he confirms after a minute. “Not quite here but almost. Seungmin and Felix are still missing.”

Hyunjin sighs. “Okay.”

Minho looks at them curiously, but before he can open his mouth, Changbin cuts him off. “I’ll tell you later.”

So maybe Hyunjin is a little bit grateful for Changbin existing and being pretty level-headed. Must have something to do with him being dead for fifty years.

He finishes packing his toiletries and then decides to do a check around the house, just in case. The ghosts trail after him like a bunch of particularly annoying kittens, and when they come across Jeongin in the living room, he joins them too.

The house seems fine. There’s nothing off-putting or out of place. It doesn’t look at all like his grandma had a bad fall in the entryway. And despite all of that he can’t shake off the feeling that there’s something he should be noticing, something he needs to be paying attention to. The ghosts don’t say anything at all, a hush falling over them when Hyunjin eventually works up the courage to crack open the door to his grandma’s bedroom.

He realizes he hasn’t been in there before. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about it. The bed is made up, and there’s a vanity and a closet by the wall opposite it. There’s a window opposite the door, cracked open slightly to let some air in, and he crosses the room to close it. From here he can see the side and back of the garden, and then the seemingly endless woods behind it. He never did end up going hiking, but maybe that’s for the best. It looks creepy.

He glances down when he notices movement and spots the gardener coming out of the shed. He’s almost startled at it, blinking in surprise. He hadn’t expected him to be around at all. How long has he been in there?

Jeongin leans his chin on Hyunjin’s shoulder. “Bad vibes.”

“You keep saying that.” Hyunjin says, glancing at him. “Don’t be mean to the elderly.”

Jeongin just shrugs. “I’m just saying it as it is. He’s not that old, anyway.”

Hyunjin just shakes his head a little.

Mr. Lee chooses that moment to glance up, and their eyes meet. Hyunjin waves awkwardly, and Mr. Lee waves back with a small smile, before trudging through the garden towards the front of the house. Hyunjin pulls away from the window and sighs.

The room smells like his grandmother. Like comfort and warmth. He really misses her.

Hopefully, he can visit her soon.

When he turns, Felix and Seungmin have materialized quietly and are standing in the room, watching him carefully.

“What?” Hyunjin asks roughly.

“Nothing,” Felix replies, scratching his chin, “you just look sad.”

“I guess I am,” Hyunjin says, leaning against the windowsill. “Look… I didn’t mean to be so short with you guys. You’re not at fault here.”

“I still don’t know what’s going on.” Jisung mutters.

“My grandmother is really hurt and in the hospital,” Hyunjin says, “and I lashed out at Changbin. At all of you, I suppose. I didn’t mean to, I just-”

He runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “I just don’t know what to do. I was supposed to go _home_. It was supposed to be easy, just a break from reality, but now there’s ghosts and mysteries and my grandma who’s hurt and- and I hate it! I just wanted… I wanted a break.”

Silence rings loudly after his outburst. He’s afraid to look at them.

“I’m sorry.”

Hyunjin quickly glances at Jisung. He looks hurt and upset.

“I shouldn’t have showed myself. I really didn’t know you would see me. Maybe then your vacation wouldn’t have turned out shitty.”

“No,” Hyunjin begins, “that’s not what I meant-”

“Then what did you mean?” Minho asks. He sounds angry, and Hyunjin doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “I’m so sorry our presence here harms you, or something. It’s not like we can just walk out the door and be gone. We didn’t ask to be stuck here. I didn’t ask for someone to kill me and leave me like this!”

Hyunjin’s mouth goes dry.

“Kill you?” he repeats, voice cracking slightly. The others are looking at Minho with some surprise too.

Minho looks a little startled, absently rubbing his throat. “I don’t know. It just came out. Whatever. It’s not the point. The point is that you can’t blame us for something we have no control over. We didn’t put ourselves here. We didn’t hurt your grandmother, either.”

Hyunjin knows he’s right, and he’s loath to admit it.

“Yeah,” he says finally, picking at a nail for something to do, “I know. I’m sorry.”

“I guess.” Minho grunts, turning away.

If he could turn back time, Hyunjin would. As it is, he just feels bad and guilty and tired, and he needs to leave.

“I’ll be back in a while,” he says eventually, when nobody else speaks, “in a few days, maybe. I hope… I would be happy if you were still here.”

“Where are you going?” Seungmin asks, frowning, “you can stay here. I’ll keep Minho from haunting you, I promise.”

“I appreciate it,” Hyunjin replies with a small smile, but it fades quickly. “I’m just going to stay with Chan. I have been for a few days already. I know you guys try your best, _I do_ , I just need… a little more time. If that makes sense. I need to come back, and it won’t be long at all, I swear.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to us,” Felix says after a moment where he’s clearly weighed his words, “it hasn’t been long since I was alive, I know there’s a lot to think about that we don’t have to as ghosts. Take your time.”

“Thank you.” Hyunjin is a little relieved despite everything. “Again, I’m sorry for being mean.”

“You’re forgiven.” Minho mutters, but turns to glare at him, “but I better not hear you blame us again.”

“I’ll try my best.” It’s all Hyunjin can offer.

Minho looks at him for a long moment before finally giving a curt nod and disappearing.

Changbin cocks his head and sighs. “He’s throwing your stuff around. Sorry about that.”

“As long as he doesn’t break anything.” Hyunjin says with a wince.

They walk downstairs and he pauses briefly in the entryway. They gather to watch him go, and it almost feels like it’s a goodbye forever, which is ridiculous. It’s literally just a couple of days. He’s seen that the ghosts are all fine, and he feels… maybe he can call it better, even if he isn’t entirely sure. He feels a little lighter, regardless. He knows they didn’t have anything to do with his grandma’s fall, and they were somehow incapacitated at the time, so.

He just has to try and figure out what caused them to be put out of commission. It’s weird, all of it.

“Okay,” he says at last, “I’ll be back soon. Uhm, just… you can do whatever you want here, okay? I don’t mind. The house is more yours than it’s mine, and I don’t want you to feel like you’re unwelcome.”

“After all this time, I wouldn’t worry about that.” Jisung says, looking happier now, “we’ll be taking advantage of everything, thank you. Be back soon, okay?”

Hyunjin nods and waves a little at them, before turning to the door and pulling it open.

And immediately running into Mr. Lee.

He jumps back a step. “Oh!”

“Ah, sorry, Hyunjin,” Mr. Lee laughs, taking a step back as well, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” Hyunjin replies, putting a hand on his chest to try and calm his racing heart, “I just didn’t expect you to be here.”

“I was doing some last-minute things,” Mr. Lee replies. He’s holding a pair of gardening gloves, and waves them a little for emphasis, “and when I saw you in the window, I thought I would catch you if I could.”

He peers at Hyunjin over the rim of his glasses. “I’m sorry to hear about Eunkyung. How is she?”

“Thank you,” Hyunjin replies softly, “she’s doing better. I’m hoping to be able to visit her soon.”

“Good, I’m relieved,” Mr. Lee hums, “please bring her my well-wishes.”

“Of course.” Hyunjin replies, “I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear it.”

Mr. Lee nods and then takes a proper look at him. “Oh, right, Mrs. Bang told me you were staying with them for a while. You don’t have to worry about the house, I’ll keep an eye on it.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Hyunjin says, though he’s not sure if he wants the gardener all over the house without him or his grandma there, “but isn’t it an inconvenience?”

“Not at all.” Mr. Lee reassures, “I’m happy to.”

Hyunjin nods a little, “alright. That’s good, thank you. I better get going.”

“Of course, of course,” Mr. Lee replies and turns around, walking down the front steps, “I’ll be going as well. I’ll see you around, Hyunjin.”

“See you, Mr. Lee.”

He watches the man leave until he’s out of sight, and then turns to look into the house. The ghosts have all moved, and now peer around various doorways, as though Mr. Lee would be able to see them if they didn’t.

“Is he gone?” Jeongin asks, brows furrowed. When Hyunjin nods, he seems pleased. “Good. Bad vibes.”

“ _Yes_ , yes, I hear you,” Hyunjin sighs. “You can haunt him if you want, when he comes by.”

“I’d rather he didn’t come around at all, but I’ll take it.” Jeongin replies and grins.

Hyunjin has to smile a little. Jeongin is adorable, in a slightly frightening way.

“Alright, I’m going now. I’ll see you all soon.”

They wave at him, some more enthusiastically than the others, but it just makes him chuckle, and he shuts and locks the door before beginning to walk back into town. Maybe he could ask Chan to pick him up.

Abruptly, he realizes he never texted Chan like he promised, and he quickly brings his phone out. It’s off, and he squints at it in confusion, but powers it on. The battery is full, so it shouldn’t have been off, but then the ghosts can apparently manipulate his phone if they want it enough. Minho probably did it out of pettiness.

He’s got a text from Chan, and then a missed call, and winces but quickly calls back.

After a few seconds, Chan picks up.

“I’m so sorry I forgot to text you,” Hyunjin blurts out before he can talk, “I got so busy thinking about things that it just slipped my mind.”

“It’s alright,” Chan says, and he sounds relieved, “I got worried about you. Sorry about that, I’m probably being overbearing.”

“It’s all good,” Hyunjin reassures, “I promised I’d text, and I didn’t. I get it.”

“Okay, good, that’s good,” Chan replies, “are you on the way back?”

“Yeah, I’m almost at the town center. Why?”

“Just wondering. Do you wanna go do something? I can pick you up?”

“Sure?” Hyunjin is a bit confused, “what do you wanna do?”

“Don’t know yet,” Chan admits, “just… get some air. Go for a walk? I dunno. Something simple.”

“Sure, that sounds nice,” Hyunjin says before he can overthink it, “I can come back to the house though.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Chan replied, “maybe we could drive out that way, anyway. You haven’t seen what’s out there yet, right?”

“I haven’t,” Hyunjin says. He has to smile at the enthusiasm Chan is showing. He sounds excited at the thought of showing Hyunjin something new, and it would be nice to just… be, for a little while. “I’ll just wait where I am, then.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes.” Chan promises and hangs up before Hyunjin can say anything else.

Hyunjin just laughs. He spends his waiting time texting both his mom and his sister for updates, and then waits, kicking at the pavement.

He hears the truck before he sees it, and then Chan is pulling up in front of him, rolling down the window and waving at him. Hyunjin climbs in, dropping his backpack down by his feet, and rolls the window back up.

“Doing okay?” Chan asks him first.

Hyunjin nods. “Yeah. Decent, at least.”

Chan nods and changes gears, driving them up the road.

They don’t end up going for a walk, but settle in the back of the truck to watch the sun set after Chan drives them out into the countryside and up onto a small hill. It’s only afternoon, and back home the sun wouldn’t be going down for a few more hours yet, but Hyunjin has stopped questioning the weird seasonal phenomenon of the countryside. He’ll just appreciate it for what it is.

One thing is for sure, he’s never seen a sunset more beautiful than this, reflecting in Chan’s eyes.

☀

They walk into Chan’s room after dinner, and Hyunjin feels any lingering tension drain out of him. God, he’s tired. He feels good, though, in a weird way. Like things are looking up a little. He hopes they will keep doing so, and that they can return to normal. That would be really good.

Chan leaves to go take a shower, and Hyunjin messes around on his phone for a while before curiosity gets the better of him and he takes a proper look around his room. Past the initial look around, he hasn’t paid much attention to things in there. He doesn’t want to breach Chan’s privacy, but if stuff is just laying around there in the open, it surely can’t hurt to take a look.

He peers at the medals he had noticed before; they’re from swimming competitions, he realizes now. Medals from years back, when he was just a kid, and ranging up to just a few years ago. It doesn’t seem like Chan competes anymore, for whatever reason. People grow bored of things easily, so it’s not much of a surprise.

Then he looks at the various pictures. There’s Chan’s family and friends, people Hyunjin doesn’t know but who must have impacted Chan’s life in some way.

A flash of dirty-blond hair catches his attention, and he squints at a photo before his eyes widen in shock. He reaches up to rub them, unable to believe he really saw who he thought-

But when he lowers his hands and blinks, Felix’ smiling face shines back at him. He’s got his arm thrown over Chan’s shoulders, and Chan is grinning brightly next to him. They’re surrounded by other people as well, but Hyunjin doesn’t bother glancing at them.

“No way,” he breathes, “no fucking way.”

But no matter how much he looks, it doesn’t change. Felix is still there. Hyunjin tilts his head closer, nose nearly brushing the glass of the framed photo. There, around Felix’ neck, is the same constellation necklace. Glancing at Chan, he spots him wearing a necklace too, the one Hyunjin briefly remembers having seen the first time he and Chan properly hung out. A sun.

Hyunjin’s head hurts.

Is Felix the friend Chan has been talking about? The one that something must have happened to? Chan has never openly told him about it, but knowing Felix’ ghost… yeah, something definitely happened.

“What are you doing?”

He jumps and turns quickly to see Chan in the doorway, rubbing a towel through his damp hair. He’s frowning a little, and Hyunjin hesitates, not sure what to say without it sounding super suspicious.

“I was just looking,” he says, “I, uh. I didn’t mean to pry into your stuff, or anything.”

Chan shakes his head a little, walking up to him and glancing at the picture.

“It’s my group of friends,” he explains, “the one I told you about? Where everyone moved away. I like keeping it for sentimentality.”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin murmurs, glancing back at the photo. He feels rattled. “It’s a nice photo. That boy, uhm, the one with his arm over your shoulders? He seems nice.”

Chan looks at the picture for a long moment, before abruptly turning away.

“He was.”

“Did… something happen?” Hyunjin ventures, hands sweaty.

Chan throws the towel over the back of his desk chair and runs a hand through his hair.

“I don’t really feel like talking about it.”

“You guys have… I mean, the necklaces. Are they meant to match?”

“I said I don’t feel like talking about it.” Chan snaps.

Hyunjin falls quiet.

For a brief, horrible moment, he wonders if Chan is the reason Felix is a ghost. He thinks about the way Felix acted, the day Chan was in his room and they were messing around on the computer. His mouth runs dry. The pieces don’t connect right, but he’s still filled with a sense of dread.

Then Chan sighs heavily. He turns back around, and he looks sad.

“I’m sorry for snapping.”

“I’m sorry for prying.” Hyunjin says, voice quiet. He doesn’t know what else to do.

Chan smiles briefly, fiddling with the very necklace in question, and then he sits down on the bed, patting the spot next to him. Hyunjin joins him, trying to act normal.

“You’re right. They are meant to match, sort of.” Chan says. He reaches back and takes it off, holding it in his hand. “His name was Felix. I gave him the necklace because the stars reminded me of his freckles.”

He chuckles. “It was kind of dumb, but he loved it. Next day he showed up, handing me this.” He rubs his thumb over the sun once again. “He said it was because my smile was like the sun. I already had a crush on him back then, and that moment only cemented it. He was my best friend.”

Hyunjin nods slowly, suddenly feeling bad. The way Chan talks about Felix… he can’t have done anything to him. He chooses not to say anything.

“He went missing,” Chan finally says. “Just out of the blue. I had been with him that very day, and we parted around dinner time. I went home, and he was supposed to go home too. I don’t know if he took a detour, or if… I have thought about it so many times, wondered so many times if there was _anything_ I could have done to stop it from happening. Mom says it’s a form for survivor’s guilt, but I don’t know. That makes it sound like he’s dead, and I don’t even know if he is. He’s just gone. Everyone searched for him all around the town, all over the fields, the river, everywhere he used to go and anywhere he didn’t.”

Chan is quiet for a minute, and then sniffles. “Fuck. I don’t know, Hyunjin. He probably is dead, and I’ve kept holding onto this stupid hope that he’ll just show up one day. Maybe he ran off to the city to be a star like we talked about, or he… went to become a monk, or something stupid like that. I’m a fool for thinking it, but I don’t want to give up.”

Hyunjin’s heart hurts. Fuck.

It had occurred to him once that Felix’ family must still be around, when he had found the article at the library, but this only makes it even more real. That there are people who miss him and want to know what happened to him. It isn’t like Felix himself knows what happened, but he’s clearly dead and even knowing that might help his family. Not that Hyunjin has any proof, because nobody else can see him. Shit. _Shit_.

“What… what about his family?” he asks. “His parents?”

“They haven’t given up either,” Chan replies. He takes a deep breath and wipes his eyes, “they still want to have hope that he’s out there.”

Hyunjin nods slowly. He puts a hand on Chan’s back, rubbing up and down. “I’m sorry.”

Chan shakes his head. “Don’t be. It’s just… I’ve stayed here for two years just in case he comes back. I don’t want to leave, just so that I can be here if he does. I don’t want to… I couldn’t bear it if he came back and I wasn’t here.”

He smiles briefly. “I sound crazy, I know.”

“No,” Hyunjin replies immediately, “you don’t. I… I get it. I would probably do the same. You’ve lost your friend, Chan. Of course you would want to be here if he comes back.”

Chan nods a little. He puts the necklace back on, tucking it into his t-shirt.

“Thank you for telling me,” Hyunjin continues, because he wants Chan to know he does appreciate it, “you didn’t owe me any explanations. I’m sorry for pushing, that was cruel.”

“It felt kinda good to talk about it,” Chan admits, “remember at the festival? I said my therapist said it would be good for me to talk about. Seems like she was right.”

Hyunjin nods a little. He wonders if it’ll feel the same if he decides to open up to Chan. There’s a lot he could talk about, like why he came here, or the ghosts, or… there are a lot of things he hasn’t said to anyone. Not even his mom. Maybe Chan shouldn’t be the first person he does tell, but he thinks Felix was right. Chan is like the sun, and not just for his smile. His personality is warm and comforting, and it makes Hyunjin _want_ to talk.

Maybe later. Hopefully one day.

They sit in silence for a while, and it feels good.

☀

Hyunjin tries not to let the guilt he feels take over. Knowing that there are people who still hold hope for Felix makes him think that the others might have family somewhere too, and that’s a heavy burden to carry. Even Changbin might have family who is alive, they would be around his grandma’s age if that was the case.

If Chan notices anything off about him, he doesn’t mention it.

There is some happy news though.

Hyunjin’s mom calls him the next day, saying she’s been in contact with the hospital and that his grandma is doing much better. They’re allowed to visit if they want, and Hyunjin jumps on the chance. He hasn’t seen her since she was admitted, after all, and he wants to see her so that he’s seen that she’s better with his own eyes.

Chan is happy to drive him when he asks, and Hyunjin seriously owes him and his family everything after all of this. He insists on at least helping to pay for gas, and Chan agrees, probably just so he feels better about it.

They’re mostly quiet on the drive to the hospital. Chan hums along to the radio, fingers drumming gently against the steering wheel, and Hyunjin stares out the window, chewing on his nails and trying not to jiggle his knee too badly. His nerves only get worse when they reach the hospital and are pointed towards his grandma’s room. She’s not where she was last time, and Hyunjin stands outside the door, trying to work up the courage to walk in.

“Do you want me to wait out here?” Chan asks.

Hyunjin considers it, but then shakes his head. “If you could come with me, I’d like that.”

“Of course.” Chan replies. “Take your time.”

Hyunjin would like to do that, but he knows that what is behind the door isn’t going to be that bad. He wouldn’t be allowed to see her if it were.

A hand takes his, and he quickly looks at Chan, who offers a small smile.

“It’s okay.” he says, and Hyunjin feels like he means it.

He nods and takes a deep breath, pushing the door open to walk inside.

The bed is to the left, near the wall, but with enough space to stand on both sides. His grandma looks peaceful, and he can see her chest rise and fall as she breathes. The sight is reassuring, even if the machines and sounds are kind of scary. He lets go of Chan’s hand to walk over, looking down at her.

There’s a tube going down her throat, and a bunch of instruments everywhere. A monitor is showing numbers that Hyunjin isn’t going to try to make sense of, just because he doesn’t really want to know. There’s no sight of blood anywhere, thankfully. She’s got a heavy cast on her right arm, and she must have the same on her right leg, because the duvet is bulky around her legs.

Chan pushes a chair over, and Hyunjin sinks down into it. He’s a little nervous, but he reaches for her hand, trying to avoid the IV-line. Her hand is warm, and he jumps a little when he feels it. He had expected it to be cold, for some reason.

Chan joins him with another chair, but doesn’t say anything, just lets Hyunjin take his time.

“We should have brought flowers.” he finally says.

“There’s a store in the lobby,” Chan replies, “we can get some.”

Hyunjin nods, slowly stroking his thumb over his grandma’s hand. He doesn’t know if he should say something. He’s seen people say that talking helps, but he doesn’t know if that’s real or if it’s just something that’s been said to comfort people.

It’s nice to just sit there, though. Being able to see and feel that she’s alive. There’s hope that she’ll wake up, and that’s all he could wish for, probably.

After a while, Chan takes his hand again, giving a small squeeze before standing.

“I’ll give you some time alone.” he says. Hyunjin glances up at him, and he quirks his lips in a semblance of a smile. “I think it’ll do you good. I’ll be outside.”

Hyunjin nods, and Chan leaves. Then he turns back to his grandma and sighs. It does feel a little less embarrassing to talk to her while Chan isn’t there.

“Hi grandma,” he finally says, scooting a little closer. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit.”

God, this feels stupid. He glances towards the door just in case, but it remains closed.

“I… I’m sorry I wasn’t there. When you got hurt.” He shifts, letting go of her hand to fiddle with his sleeves. “I should have been. Maybe you wouldn’t be here if I was.”

He smiles weakly. That’s the crux of it, isn’t it? Maybe if he’d been there, she wouldn’t have tripped down the stairs. Or been pushed. He doesn’t want to entertain the thought that someone purposefully hurt her, but surely she wouldn’t just trip? She’s spry for being in her 70’s, and he can’t imagine she would just fall.

The doctors haven’t said anything about her getting sick, or anything like that, after all. He could have seen it if she had gotten a heart attack, but they haven’t mentioned it.

He shakes his head a little and sighs again.

“I miss you. I hope you’ll wake up soon. I’ll try to visit you as much as possible, and when you get all better you can come home again. I don’t want to leave until you do. I don’t think mom will make me either, so that’s nice. I think she worries a lot too, even if she doesn’t say it. You know how she can be.”

He chuckles quietly and takes her hand again. “Please wake up. I’ll come here and talk your ear off every day until you do. It’s… it’ll be lonely in the house without you. I’m staying with Chan for now, but I can’t be there forever. I have to go back to the ghosts. Do you know about them? They said you can’t see them, but maybe you’ve noticed them anyway. It would be nice if I wasn’t the only one who could see them.”

He takes a deep breath. “It’s burdensome. I’ve come to enjoy having them around, but I don’t know what to do with them. I had this grand plan that I could find a way to help them move on, but that was just stupid. What can I do? All I’ve done is piss them off, I think. They’re really nice and then I go and accuse them of hurting you and messing up my life. I’d be pissed off at me too.”

He scowls a little, looking down at his lap.

“Chan knows one of them, too. And now I have to pretend like his former best friend isn’t dead and in our house. Sorry, your house. I keep thinking of it as home while I’m here. I hope that’s okay.”

Of course she doesn’t reply, but he’d like to think that she wouldn’t mind.

“I thought this would be easy. That I could be here for a while and forget about everything that had happened back home, and then go back feeling refreshed. I mean… I’ve had a good time. I got a new friend and experienced a friendship where it’s not about who can fuck shit up the most. Sorry. I shouldn’t curse. I don’t think you mind cursing, come to think of it. I’m sorry, I’m rambling, I just… I _really_ miss you.”

He blinks rapidly, trying not to tear up, and takes a few deep breaths.

“I should probably go, though. I don’t want to make Chan wait, since he drove me all the way here. I can see why you liked having him around to help, he’s really selfless, huh? I can understand why he’d be like a grandson to you.”

Hyunjin smiles a little. “I’ll be back soon, grandma. Promise.”

He stands, giving her hand another squeeze, and heads over to the door. Chan is waiting outside, leaning against the wall, but he straightens up when Hyunjin exits.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

Hyunjin nods. “I’m okay. Thank you for coming with me, I really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Chan smiles, “of course I would. It’s what friends do.”

Hyunjin could definitely say that none of his friends back home would do all this for him, but he chooses not to. Instead he tilts his head, glancing towards the room he just left.

“Do you want some time with her too?”

“Huh?” Chan looks surprised. “Would that be okay?”

“Of course,” Hyunjin replies, “Chan. Remember the first day we met? You’re as much her grandson as I am.”

“Oh,” Chan nods slowly, chewing on his bottom lip, “yeah, okay. A few minutes?”

“Take as long as you need.” Hyunjin replies.

Chan smiles and heads into the room, and Hyunjin sits down in one of the chairs dotting the hallway, picking up a magazine on the table next to him to flick through while he waits. It’s only fair that Chan is allowed to be with her a few minutes, after how much he’s helped his grandma out over the years.

Around fifteen minutes later, Chan steps out. He looks like he’s maybe cried a little, and Hyunjin feels really bad, getting to his feet.

“Hug?” he offers tentatively and Chan steps into his arms. They hug for a long while and it’s really comforting. When they finally part, Chan lets out a heavy sigh.

“That was rougher than I anticipated.”

Hyunjin nods, knowing what he means. “Yeah. Do you wanna buy flowers before we go?”

Chan nods as well, and they head down to the shop in the lobby, picking out a bouquet each to buy and bring back up. They ask a nurse for vases, and she helps them find one. They manage to fit both bouquets in there somehow, and the room looks a little brighter, which helps.

“Okay. We’ll be back another time, grams,” Hyunjin says, squeezing her hand once more before stepping back. Chan does the same, and then they finally walk out of the hospital to begin the drive back home.

“Do you feel better?” Hyunjin finally asks when they’ve put the city far behind them.

“I think so, yeah,” Chan replies. “It felt alright talking to her. Just… letting her know we’re here and that we want her to be okay.”

Hyunjin nods in agreement. “Yeah. I do hope she’ll wake up soon. It’ll probably take a long time before she can come back home, but… even just knowing she’ll be better would help.”

“God, it really would,” Chan sighs, dragging a hand over his face. “But I’m sure she will be. She’s strong.”

“The strongest,” Hyunjin smiles slightly, “I’m really happy to have her. And I’m happy she’s had you all these years.”

“Getting sentimental?” Chan teases, but reaches over to put a hand on his arm. “Me too. I’m happy you came to visit her when you did.”

Hyunjin nods. He can’t imagine how he’d feel if he hadn’t and she’d been hurt. It’s better not to think about it.

☀

They end up visiting almost every day. His grandma gets stronger by the day, and the doctors seem confident they can try to wake her up soon. They had said she would probably need rehabilitation when she does, both for her arm and her leg, and that she won’t be able to return home immediately. And that’s fine. Hyunjin is confident she’ll be able to ace any form for physical training and be back before he knows it.

On one visit, both he and Chan are sitting in the room. Maybe it’s because he’s feeling melancholy, or because he needs something to fill the silence, Hyunjin doesn’t know. He’s never been good at just sitting quietly to contemplate, even if Chan makes him want to do just that.

“Hey Chan?”

“Hm?”

“Did I ever tell you why I came here?”

“Not in detail,” Chan replies, “and you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I feel like I should.” Hyunjin replies, glancing his way. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

Chan nods slowly, brows furrowed. “Okay.”

Hyunjin looks back at his grandma and sighs, pulling one leg up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his knee and resting his chin on top of it.

“It’s nothing serious. I mean, not super serious, I guess? I didn’t kill anyone or anything like that… I just ran with the wrong crowd. I thought they were my friends, and then it turns out they just spent time with me because I could provide things they wanted. My family has some money, and I was popular enough in high school to have a lot of girls following me around, I guess.

And I realized at some point that all I had was them. My real friends were long gone, and I was terrified of losing these ones because I didn’t want to be alone. My grades had tanked so I was in a tough spot at school as it was. They kept daring me to do stuff, threatening that if I didn’t they’d fuck off and tell everyone what kind of person I really was.”

“Which was?” Chan ventures.

Hyunjin looks at his grandmother for a moment, wondering how much she had known, how much his mom had told her. He wonders if she’d be as happy for him to stay if she had known everything.

“I don’t know. That I was a shit person, I guess? That I only sought friends who were less than me to elevate myself, that I was nothing beneath some good looks. I recognize now that none of it was true, but at the time I believed it and clung to those words.”

“High school boys are mean.” Chan says.

Hyunjin nods.

“Anyway. We started doing things that were bordering on illegal. Petty vandalism, trespassing, theft. And then they wanted me to rob a store. Get alcohol for them.”

He sure hopes Chan won’t think any less of him after this.

“I tried. Grabbed a sixpack and went to the store clerk originally. He was an older man, not as old as my grandma but definitely older than, say, your parents. When he turned his back, I tried to leave with the beer. He saw and caught me, threatened to call the cops. I panicked and pushed him. He got hurt.”

He glances at his grandma again and really hopes she can’t hear any of this. Maybe it was a mistake telling Chan all of this, especially here. He can’t bear to look at him.

“I nearly got arrested. Freaked out when I saw he was hurt and called the police; it was the first thing I could think of. My friends had run off, so it was just me there. I spilled everything when they asked me, and they kept me at the station all night. My mom was _furious_. I’ve never seen her that angry before.”

He picks at his nails until it hurts. “I thought for sure I was going to be put in jail or something. I was released in the morning, and my mom demanded I find the store clerk and apologize. He was at the store a few days later, and when I came in, he kept frowning at me while I tried to find an apology that was good enough.”

Hyunjin sighs and closes his eyes briefly.

“He asked me why I did it. Asked me to be honest. I told him everything, it just spilled out, I felt so sorry for having hurt him. He was fine, just a bit bruised it turns out, but I still feel like I had…” He waves a hand towards his grandmother. “Kind of like this. You know?”

Chan says nothing, and Hyunjin powers through.

“Anyway. He forgave me. Said he wouldn’t press any charges, but asked that I found the time to be honest with myself. And that I would drop my friends because they weren’t really my friends at all. That part was easy. I’m _trying_ to be more honest with myself, but that’s hard. I’m not a good person. My mom suggested I get away for a while just to gather myself and spend some time away from bad influence, and that place ended up being here.”

He falls quiet. Chan still doesn’t say anything, not for a few long minutes.

Finally, he shifts, and reaches out. “Look at me.”

Hyunjin does even if he’s scared to. Chan doesn’t look angry. Just sad. Pitying.

“You’re not a bad person.” he says. “You made mistakes and then you owned up to them. That’s not being a bad person. It’s being a teenager who’s trying to learn and grow. You’ve already tried to rectify the bad things you did, and that shows you’re good. Maybe just a bit misguided. I haven’t done things that are all good either. None of us do, we’re human.”

“You think so?”

“I do,” Chan says with a nod, “I wouldn’t worry about what your grandma might think, Hyunjin. She’d accept that you fucked up because you then tried your best to undo it. All of us want to be well-liked by those around us, and I can understand pushing boundaries to get the acceptance you craved. As long as you know it was bad and that you won’t do it again, then it’s okay.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin breathes. He feels a ton lighter hearing those words. Even saying all of it out loud had felt good, like a burden was lifted. Finally someone knows what he’s done. And Chan is even saying he’s forgiven for it. That… means a lot. He says as much, and Chan smiles a little.

“I’m glad. Thank you for telling me all of this. It can’t have been easy.”

“I hoped you wouldn’t immediately hate me,” Hyunjin admits, “I figured you wouldn’t, but I was still a bit scared. Thank you for listening.”

“Anytime,” Chan promises. He sounds like he means it. “Anytime you need.”

☀

Hyunjin decides to try and move back into the house a few days later. He tells Chan’s family this during dinner, and Chan’s mom immediately looks concerned.

“Are you sure?” she asks gently. “You’re welcome to stay here.”

“I know,” Hyunjin replies with a small smile, “and I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done for me. You’re probably the nicest people I’ve ever met. I just think that it might be time to at least try. That way I can help look after the house.”

“Okay,” Chan’s mom says and smiles his way. “But the door is open if you feel the need to come back. We’re only a call away.”

“Thank you.” Hyunjin says and means it. “Thank you so much.”

He goes back the very next day, telling Chan he’ll probably need some time on his own just for today, but that he’ll be happy to text as often as he might want to. Chan agrees easily, and Hyunjin enters the house with both trepidation and courage warring inside him.

“Hello?” he calls when he initially hears nothing. “Jisung? Jeongin?”

He drops his backpack in the entryway and wanders through the house, frowning. Are they gone again? Driven away by whatever forced them away last time?

“Changbin?” he calls more urgently, jogging up the stairs. “Seungmin?”

He checks his room and almost trips over his own feet when he sees Jeongin and Seungmin on his bed, playing cards. “Oh thank god.”

“Welcome back, traitor.” Jeongin mutters as he places a card down.

Hyunjin blinks at him. “Huh?”

“You said you’d be back soon,” Seungmin says, not looking up. “It’s been a lot longer than soon, or a few days.”

“Did you find better ghosts to hang out with?” Jeongin asks.

They’re both clearly sulking. Hyunjin is so confused.

“No?” he says, “of course not. You guys are the only ghosts I know. I’m sorry it took me longer to come back than I anticipated. I had… some stuff to work through.”

They’re both silent. Hyunjin is a little hurt.

“Grandma is doing a lot better,” he tries, “she might wake up soon.”

That does get their attention, both of them glancing his way.

“Good,” Seungmin says, and there’s relief on his face before he manages to school his expression, and he quickly looks back down at his cards.

“Do you have any fives?”

“Go fish.” Jeongin replies.

Hyunjin hesitates. “Where are the others?”

“Around.”

“Okay.”

He stands in the doorway for another minute before approaching them. “Guys. I’m sorry for being gone for a while, but this isn’t fair. What did I do?”

Jeongin sighs and puts his cards down, looking at him properly.

“We were worried, okay? You weren’t coming by. Only the ugly guy kept visiting, and we don’t want to interact with _him_.”

“Who? Mr. Lee?” Hyunjin asks.

“So you think he’s ugly too!” Jeongin looks triumphant.

“Jeongin.” Hyunjin sighs, exasperated, “look- whatever. I’m sorry. I’ll apologize as many times as you want, I just… wanted to say I’m coming back now. I’m going to try to stay. I hope you’ll have me here.”

“I guess,” Seungmin finally says and sits up better, putting his own cards down. “You’re forgiven. It’s just been really weird without you here; the house has been so _dead_. Uh. No pun intended.”

Hyunjin smiles and Seungmin slowly does too.

“Oh, come here,” Hyunjin says, holding out his arms. Seungmin jumps up to hug him, and Hyunjin tries his best to suppress a shiver.

Jeongin jumps up to hug him too.

“Oh, is this what we’re doing?” comes Jisung’s voice, and then the ghosts are all piling on him.

Hyunjin laughs, even as he’s enveloped by the chilly feeling of them. He’s happy to be back with them.

“Why weren’t you answering me?” he asks when they finally let off. Even Minho hugged him, so clearly he’s been missed. It’s touching. “I thought maybe you had been forced away again. You scared me.”

“Sorry,” Felix has the decency to look apologetic, “Jeongin and Seungmin convinced us all to join in on hiding.”

“Remind me to never play hide and seek with you guys,” Hyunjin sighs, but smiles to show it’s okay, “you’re forgiven. If… you guys could forgive me too?”

“Already have,” Seungmin says, and Hyunjin quickly shakes his head.

“Not just for not coming back for a while. The things I said before I left… those too. Everything. I was… I should have thought more before speaking. You can’t be blamed for any of it.”

He’s thought about it a lot, and the more he has, the more guilty he’s felt about what he said. From blaming them for his grandmother’s accident to them being stuck around the house. None of it is their fault and he needs them to know that.

They look at each other, seemingly silently communicating, before Changbin looks back at him and nods.

“Of course. It’s all forgiven. You were talking from a place of pain. We all have done things we feel sorry for, I’m sure.”

Hyunjin smiles tentatively and Changbin returns it.

☀

“Felix?”

Felix looks up from where he’s peering out the window in Hyunjin’s bedroom. Hyunjin hadn’t wanted to bother him initially, but he feels like he needs to get this over with. He needs to talk about what he’s learned with someone, and Felix is the only one he can. The only one who he _should_ be talking about it with.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure,” Felix says and shifts, sitting down in the windowsill. “What is it?”

Hyunjin takes a seat on the bed, one leg tucked underneath him, and thinks about how to word himself. He’s shut the door, even if he knows it won’t keep the other ghosts out, but he hopes they’ll take it as a sign that they shouldn’t come in.

“You and Chan were friends,” is what he finally settles for, “right? I saw a picture of you.”

Felix looks surprised for a second, before his expression settles into something more resigned.

“You found out.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Hyunjin asks carefully, “I could try to show him you’re here-”

“No.” Felix shakes his head. “I don’t want him to know. Not unless it’s inevitable.”

He sighs, fiddling with his necklace, and it’s such a familiar picture. Chan had done the exact same thing.

“I know he has hope I’m not dead. I heard him talking about it with your grandma once. I don’t want him to find out this way. Maybe it’s best if he never finds out. Look…”

Felix blinks rapidly, almost like he’s trying not to cry, looking up at the ceiling for a moment as though trying to compose himself.

“I know that whatever happened to me, it was bad. I don’t remember the details, no matter how hard I try, but I know it wasn’t nice. I didn’t die in my sleep or anything like that. It’s just a feeling I have, but it’s so strong that I know it must be true. And I can’t have Chan find that out. He’s already feeling guilty enough as it is. He usually walked me home, you know? Had some notion that he had to make sure I made it home safely.”

Felix smiles slightly, looking at him. “And then one time he didn’t, and then I woke up here. It’s easy to connect the dots.”

Hyunjin nods slowly. He knows what this mean, but he doesn’t want to think about it. Felix being killed, or anything like that. Minho had said the same thing, and Hyunjin is starting to realize they must all have had the same grisly fate. It’s horrifying.

“Did you have a connection to the house?” he asks.

Felix shrugs. “Not really. We used to walk past it a lot to go play out in the fields, and Chan and I used to steal apples all the time, but nothing other than that.”

So nothing too obvious as to why he’s stuck here, then. Hyunjin really doesn’t know how any of them are going to be able to move on from this place.

“He misses you.”

Felix laughs a little, running a shaking hand through his hair.

“Yeah, I know. I miss him too. Every time he came by, every time he helped your grandma out with something, I wanted him to see me so badly. I wanted him to know I was there, but I know it’s best that he doesn’t. With enough time, I hope he can forget about me. Realize that I’m dead and move on. He’s as much trapped in this town as I’m trapped in this house as it is.”

“I could tell him.” Hyunjin says.

“Without proof he won’t believe you,” Felix replies. “He’ll just get mad at you. It’s not worth it.”

“Your body must be somewhere.” Hyunjin protests, feeling a little sick at the thought. “All your bodies must be somewhere.”

“Do you _really_ want to go digging for graves?” Felix asks, crossing his arms. “Find our decomposing bodies?”

“No.” Hyunjin mumbles, swallowing hard. “Not really.”

Felix nods. “Exactly. Please try to forget about it, Hyunjin. I appreciate that you want to help, but sometimes people can’t be helped.”

Hyunjin nods, a little dejected. But he gets it. In the end it’s not his call to make, it’s Felix’. Maybe it had been stupid trying to play hero, thinking he could help these people. He just wants them to be happy.

Felix jumps from the windowsill and walks over to him, sitting down next to him.

“Hey,” he says, putting a hand on Hyunjin’s arm, “I’m serious. I do appreciate it. I’m sure everyone does. Even if we have to remain here, then that’s just how it is. We’ll live with it somehow. Just don’t forget to visit us, and it’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Hyunjin says and smiles, wobbly. “I’m sorry. I wish things were different.”

“We all do,” Felix replies, “but we have to make the best out of what we have. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll try. No promises.”

Felix grins. “Good.”

☀

Hyunjin does his best to reacclimatize himself into living in the house without his grandmother there. It works for the most part. He invites Chan over frequently, or Chan asks him if he wants to hang out somewhere else, and that fills some of the void he feels.

His grandma is getting better, too, and she could wake up any day now. The news makes everything feel better, easier to handle, and he knows he’s in a much better mood because the ghosts seem to be too, somehow affected by his mood swings to an extent. They go back to messing with things around the house, to coming through walls without a care or jumping up through the stove whenever he tries to cook, which he somewhat succeeds at.

Chan’s mom tends to send leftovers whenever Chan comes to visit, and it’s probably what saves him, honestly. When he goes back home, he really needs his mom to teach him how to cook properly.

Jisung keeps insisting on trying to eat, Seungmin keeps being exasperated over his attempts, and things feel normal. Or as normal as they can, in a house with six ghosts. Hyunjin is so happy they’re there to keep him company, despite the reason why.

He settles back into the flow of things. It does feel nice to be back in the house, and slowly he starts to feel more comfortable being there on his own (aside from the ghosts. He can always count on Minho turning the lights on and off to keep things interesting).

Hyunjin is confident that things will be alright. Given time, everything will go back to normal. He can’t wait.

☀

It’s pitch black when Hyunjin startles awake. He’s not sure what woke him up and spends a moment trying to hear anything, but the house seems quiet. He snuggles back into the pillow, ready to go back to sleep, when Jeongin’s voice hisses next to his hear.

“Hyunjin.”

“Jesus!” Hyunjin jumps, reaching out to swat uselessly at him, blinking into the dark. “What?”

“Someone is in the house.” Jeongin says, voice sounding far away.

Hyunjin sits up and groans, rubbing his hands over his face before reaching out to turn on the lamp. He blinks against the light, seeing Jeongin hovering by the door. Minho is perched in the windowsill, swinging his legs back and forth.

“Nobody is in the house.” Hyunjin says. He locked the doors, as he always does.

There’s a low thump from downstairs and he freezes. Minho smirks from his spot.

“Are you sure?”

It sounds ominous, and Hyunjin pushes the duvet off and gets out of bed. The floor is freezing against his bare feet and he shivers, looking around the room before grabbing the only weapon he can find; an old candle jar. It’s useless, but it might buy him some time if he’s actually getting robbed.

Minho and Jeongin follow him out when he eases the door open, and he stands on the landing, trying to hear anything. It’s dark downstairs, and he doesn’t want to go. If someone is in the house, and if ghosts exists, what is to say demons don’t?

Another thump makes him jump, and Minho and Jeongin look more serious. Minho heads downstairs, holding a hand up to tell him to wait, and Hyunjin can barely breathe, straining his ears. It’s not like anyone should be able to see Minho, but he still worries because what if? If _he_ can, there’s no proof nobody else will.

Minho suddenly appears in front of him and he gasps, smacking a hand over his mouth. His expression is hard to read, and Hyunjin tilts his head, trying to ask without speaking.

“It’s your gardener,” he says, “in the kitchen.”

“What?” Hyunjin asks perplexed, too confused to be quiet. Minho and Jeongin immediately shush him.

He heads down the stairs, trying not to be too noisy, but not that worried if it’s just Mr. Lee, even if it’s the middle of the night. He forgot to turn off the light above the stove, and he can see a shadow moving around in the kitchen. He flicks on the hallway light and stops in the doorway, seeing Mr. Lee peering into a cupboard above the sink.

“Mr. Lee?” he ventures, and the man quickly turns around.

“Hyunjin!” he says. Hyunjin blinks at him. His jacket is hanging over the back of a chair, and his shoes are muddy, leaving trails on the tile floor. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“I live here.” Hyunjin says slowly. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, fine,” Mr. Lee replies, patting at his forehead with a handkerchief. “I headed past the house and thought I would check on you, since you’re all alone. You left the door unlocked.”

Hyunjin swears he locked it, but he may have forgotten in his haste to get to bed.

“Thanks for your concern,” Hyunjin says with a small smile, trying to be polite even if he is really tired and he’s not happy that Mr. Lee would make himself at home like this. He’s not an expert in the relationship between his grandma and the man, but his grandma doesn’t seem like the type to let just anyone walk into her house when they feel like it, door unlocked or no.

“But I’m really tired and it’s late. I’m fine, though. You should go home too, Mr. Lee.”

“Yes, yes,” he agrees, but rather than go for the door he pulls out a chair at the table and sits down. “spare a cup of tea for an old man, Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin would rather not. Minho and Jeongin are suspiciously absent, just like the rest. They do tend to avoid being around with other people there, in case they do something to give themselves away, but Hyunjin wouldn’t have minded their company at the moment.

He makes to say no, but finally sighs and smiles a little again. “Sure.”

It’s not fair of him to be mad at an old man. He’s been nothing but kind, both before and after his grandmother’s accident. So Hyunjin puts the kettle on and grabs two cups and teabags. “Sugar?”

“No, thank you.” Mr. Lee shakes his head.

They’re quiet for the next minute, until Hyunjin can pour both cups and sets one down in front of the man, before sitting down on the opposite side of the table. Mr. Lee cradles the cup, and Hyunjin thinks it must burn him, but he seems content.

“So,” Hyunjin finally begins, a little awkward. He’s never had a proper conversation with the man since arriving, “why were you up? Couldn’t sleep?”

“Something like that,” Mr. Lee agrees, “sometimes memories keep me up. Bad dreams. Do you ever have bad dreams, Hyunjin?”

“Sometimes,” Hyunjin nods, “doesn’t everyone?”

“Some more than others.” Mr. Lee says and looks like he loses himself in his thoughts for a moment, a small smile in place. “I confess, it’s been rough. But now I’m an old man, so it can only get easier from here. Youth these days don’t have the same kind of troubles like back in the day.”

If Hyunjin could count the amount of times old people have told him that people his age _have_ _no_ _real problems_ , he would run out of both fingers and toes very quickly. He chooses not to say anything and let Mr. Lee reminisce at his own pace. Sometimes silence is the best option.

Changbin appears in the kitchen suddenly, walking through the wall, and Hyunjin almost jumps, eyes darting towards him. He’s looking at Mr. Lee, a frown on his face as he leans back against the counter. Hyunjin tries to ignore him, and it doesn’t seem like Mr. Lee notices his lapse in attention.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he offers.

Mr. Lee looks up and shakes his head. “I’m not sure you’d want to hear it. I don’t want to give _you_ nightmares.”

“Well, I’m willing to listen a little, if you want,” Hyunjin amends and notices his cup is empty. “More tea?”

Mr. Lee hands the cup over, and Hyunjin stands and walks over to the kettle.

“I’m sorry about your grandmother,” Mr. Lee says suddenly.

Hyunjin pauses, shoulders hunching. “You already said.”

He doesn’t want to think about it. Mr. Lee had been gentle, coming over the first time, expressing the same words back then. She might not be dead, but Hyunjin still feels her missing presence keenly.

“I’m sorry about pushing her.”

The cup drops to the floor, shattering by his feet.

He’s almost afraid to look over his shoulder, turning slowly.

“What?” he breathes, heart starting to pound in his chest.

Mr. Lee has turned in the chair and is facing him. “It was an unfortunate side effect. I’m happy it didn’t kill her.”

Hyunjin can’t believe what he’s hearing. His ears are ringing.

“You _pushed_ her?!” his voice comes out choked. “ _You_?”

“I had to get her out of the picture.” Mr. Lee tells him calmly, like this is a casual conversation during dinnertime, and not a confession of… of attempted murder, in the middle of the night. Hyunjin’s hands clench against the counter where’s he’s trying to brace himself. Changbin is still there, out of the corner of his eye, face unreadable.

“What?” Hyunjin can only repeat himself like a broken record. “What do you mean? You couldn’t have pushed her, you like her, you-”

“Silly boy.”

His mouth snaps shut.

Mr. Lee pulls off his glasses and wipes them with the sleeve of his knit sweater.

“She has been planning to sell the house,” he says, “she told me and the errand boy all about it, though she promised she wouldn’t leave me without a job. As if I care about the job.” He snorts, derisive. “She doesn’t understand what the real work here is. I can’t have anyone dig around the property, you understand.”

Hyunjin can’t speak. He’s trying to make sense of everything, trying to grasp what is being confessed to him. Mr. Lee pushed his grandmother down a set of stairs, and for what? For some property?

Jeongin appears as well suddenly, and Hyunjin glances towards him. He looks serious, face set in a hard line. _Bad vibes_ , Hyunjin remembers him saying, all that time ago.

Mr. Lee looks his way as well, but doesn’t seem to spot anything interesting, putting his glasses back on.

“You need to leave.” Hyunjin finally whispers. He wants to raise his voice, but he can’t. He’s scared, hands shaking. “Now.”

“You should sit down.” is all Mr. Lee says in return.

Hyunjin shakes his head, and the man slams a hand against the table, voice raised.

“Now!”

Hyunjin jumps, but slowly walks back to the chair he had occupied and sits stiffly. The ghosts appear one by one, standing around them. Jisung looks furious, and Seungmin is keeping a hand on him like Jisung might physically attack, as impossible as that is. Felix is the only one who looks sad.

He could make a run for it, probably. Mr. Lee is old, surely Hyunjin can outrun him. He’ll go outside and scream, run towards town, someone will hear him-

“The last boy who was stupid enough to run didn’t have time to scream.”

Hyunjin’s head whips up, staring in shock. Mr. Lee looks back, hands folded on the tabletop.

“I know you’ve been looking into some disappearances in town,” he says. “I saw the newspaper prints. Trying to play detective, Hyunjin?”

“You’ve been in my room?” Hyunjin asks, shocked. His mouth is dry.

Mr. Lee smiles at him, almost kindly. “Of course. Many times.”

“But-”

“Be quiet. I want to finish before it gets too late.”

Hyunjin shuts up.

“It’s him,” Felix says, coming to stand next to him. He looks so incredibly sad. “He did it.”

“Do you understand why I can’t have anyone looking around?” Mr. Lee asks. “The things they will find is too much for simple people’s ears.”

“You killed them.” Hyunjin manages. His heart is threatening to beat out of his chest. His hands are clammy, and he feels cold. “You did it.”

“And here we come to the root of it.” Mr. Lee sighs almost tired-like. “I did. It was an accident, the first one. The boy of the family who lived here.”

“He’s lying.” Changbin croaks. “He knew what he was doing.”

Hyunjin wants to cry. He must be dreaming; this has got to be a nightmare. He wants Chan. He wants his grandmother.

“He was my high school classmate. I was jealous of him. He had the looks, the perfect family, decent grades… things I wanted. We fought often, and perhaps I pushed him too hard. He hit his head off the sidewalk on the way down. I panicked. I didn’t know what to do with him, but of course I couldn’t tell anyone, I would be jailed. Can you imagine?” Mr. Lee chuckles a little. “His mother had just had part of the garden turned into the flowerbeds you see by the back gate today. The soil was soft. Nobody thought to check. It was assumed he ran away.”

He falls quiet for a moment, as though reminiscing. Hyunjin wants to be sick.

“And then that other boy came accusing me of murder! Can you imagine? He yelled at me, right outside. Told me he knew what I had done.” Mr. Lee shakes his head. “There used to be a pond out front. I had to push him in, I couldn’t risk anyone knowing.”

Boy? Which one of them? Hyunjin can’t wrap his head around it at all.

“There is a certain thrill over having someone’s life in your hands,” he continues. “Knowing that you can grant it – or take it away – in a matter of minutes. I suppose I started craving the feeling. It took years before the next ones. I moved away for a while, then came back. I didn’t even know their names, but they always came the same way. Probably went to the same school, just a few years apart.”

Hyunjin doesn’t want to hear this. Doesn’t want to know any of this. He wants to cover his ears and close his eyes and pretend none of this is happening. Wishes he were like one of the ghosts who could just blink out of sight. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? They wouldn’t be here if Lee hadn’t done all these things, and Hyunjin… he almost wants to know. Just so he can help.

“The one after that came years later. I knew I had to stop doing all of this. I didn’t want anyone to catch on, especially not my wife. But then she left me, and well… I was angry. There was a kid who used to bike by my house every day. He was a sweet kid, just unlucky to be there at the wrong time. I brought him here. It had stood empty for a few years by then, and it was easy to take him to the back, to the tool shed. It was quick, I promise.”

As if that is going to make it any better.

“Stop.” he finally whispers. His eyes hurt from trying to hold back his tears. “Please stop, I don’t want to hear it.”

“You have to hear it. You have to know.” Mr. Lee insists. “Someone must know my life’s work, even if it all ends with you.”

Hyunjin startles, eyes wide. Of course, Mr. Lee wouldn’t tell him all of this and then let him go. He shakes, wanting to flee.

“The last one was only a couple of years ago,” Mr. Lee finally says. He seems to think it over. “He came by often along with the errand boy. They used to steal from the apple trees. Eunkyung was always amused by them, so she let them.”

He shakes his head. “He was a sweet kid. They always called him by a foreign name, I don’t know why. I thought he would be the final one, the last piece. I’m old, I can’t keep doing these kinds of things. But then you showed up.”

Hyunjin is frantically trying to put it all together to see the full picture, trying to _understand_. He wants to scream, tensing in his chair.

“I’m an old man,” Mr. Lee says again. “Even if they arrest me now, I won’t be held for long. I’m sorry it has to be this way, Hyunjin.”

Minho leans over Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“Run.”

Hyunjin doesn’t know how he does it. He stands so fast his chair clatters to the floor and runs for the front door. He hears Mr. Lee get up, the chair scraping across the floor, and frantically fumbles for the handle. It doesn’t open.

“No, no, no!” he whispers, struggling to unlock it. The lock doesn’t _fucking_ budge-

He whips around, seeing Mr. Lee walk towards him, looking like he has all the time in the world.

“You shouldn’t bother to run,” he says. “I’m sorry, Hyunjin.”

“Shut up!” Hyunjin runs towards the stairs and up, feeling Mr. Lee grab for him, barely missing. He manages to get up the steps, thinking about locking himself in his room to call the police.

Someone grabs his ankle and he falls, crashing to the floor.

Craning his head, he sees Mr. Lee is at the top of the stairs too, and Hyunjin scrambles to get up, to get away. Mr. Lee is quick though, too quick, and he’s on Hyunjin before he can move away.

“Don’t!” he shouts, terrified, raising his arms to push him away while Mr. Lee shoves him down and sits across his stomach. Hyunjin frantically kicks his legs, shaking his head when Mr. Lee reaches for him.

“Stay still!” Mr. Lee snaps and wraps his hands around Hyunjin’s throat.

Hyunjin chokes and panics, managing to grip his wrist and drag one of his hands away, but Mr. Lee is quicker, jerking his wrist free and putting it on his throat again.

Hyunjin tries to scream. He tries to hit, to kick, to roll, doesn’t know why it _isn’t working_. He can’t breathe.

Stars are bursting in his vision when through the high-pitched ringing in his ears he hears another choking noise.

The hands slacken. He gasps, managing to shove them away entirely and coughs when trying to catch enough air, opening his tear-wet eyes to see Minho standing over Mr. Lee, his own hands wrapped around the man’s throat.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Minho says, voice quiet and cold. “You’ve done enough.”

Hyunjin manages to drag himself back, out from underneath Mr. Lee, who is up on his knees, eyes bulging.

Still trying to catch his breath, his throat burning, Hyunjin can only watch in confusion and shock as Minho is able to touch and Mr. Lee can actually see him. How is it possible?

“You did enough when you killed us,” Minho snarls, eyes dark, “you did enough when you buried us here to be forgotten!”

Mr. Lee tries to choke out some words, clearly terrified, even if it’s apparent Minho isn’t really choking him. Not yet.

Something bangs against the front door, and distantly Hyunjin hears Chan’s voice, shouting. He can’t take his eyes away from the sight in front of him. He realizes he’s wheezing, unable to breathe properly, but it’s second-rate.

“You killed us,” Jisung appears too, shoving a finger against Mr. Lee’s chest, “you _killed_ us, you almost killed an old woman, and now you’re trying to kill Hyunjin? You’re done making mistakes.”

“I’ve never made a mistake.” Mr. Lee wheezes.

Jisung smiles.

“Neither have I.” he says and shoves.

Hyunjin watches Mr. Lee toppling backward, Minho stepping out of the way. He watches Mr. Lee fall down and out of sight, hears his body crashing against the stairs, hears an unmistakable _crack_ , and promptly leans over to vomit.

He heaves for breath, a mixture of tears and sick on his chin, sobbing as he sits back up and crawls over to the stairs to look down. He has to, driven by a need to see.

Mr. Lee lays on the floor, unmoving. His pose is not unlike the one his grandma had been in all that time ago. Blood is spreading around his head, and his body looks twisted in a way that can’t be natural.

The door finally opens and Chan bursts in, stopping in place. He stares at the body for a long moment, before raising his head to look up at Hyunjin. Hyunjin doesn’t look back, busy looking at the body, the _corpse_ -

He gags, squeezing his eyes shut and dragging himself back, away from the stairs. Someone reaches for him, ice against his shoulder.

“Hyunjin-”

Hyunjin flinches away.

He wraps his arms around his legs and cries. It’s ugly, whole body shaking with the force of his sobbing, snot and drool mixing with everything else.

“Hyunjin.”

Chan kneels down in front of him. Hyunjin didn’t hear him come up the stairs, but it doesn’t matter. A hand lands on his arm, tentative, and Hyunjin throws himself into Chan’s arms, curling into him. Chan hugs him tightly, holding him and rocking him gently.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re safe now, he’s gone. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I-” Hyunjin chokes out, groaning a little, “oh _god_.”

Chan keeps shushing him gently, not letting go of him, not prying. When Hyunjin finally pulls back a little, looking up, all the ghosts are gathered around him. Jisung looks a little bit guilty, but ultimately tils his head up, jaw set. He doesn’t regret what he did, that much is obvious.

And the thing is… Hyunjin doesn’t hate him for it. Jisung did it to save him. They all saved him from ending up like them. It’s painful, but he’s grateful for it, deep down.

“Come on,” Chan says, trying to coax him to his feet, “let’s get you cleaned up.”

“The body-” Hyunjin croaks. “We have to- they’ll think I killed him-”

“We’ll say it was self-defense,” Chan says, looking down at him. “They’ll believe it. I know it. He tried to hurt you. He did hurt you.”

His eyes drop to Hyunjin’s neck. He hopes it isn’t going to leave a mark, but his throat feels tight and sore, so it must.

Chan hesitates briefly. “I’ll call the police first. Then we’ll get you cleaned up.”

“Don’t leave me.” Hyunjin pleads. He feels all sorts of shaky and out of sorts, and he thinks that if he’s left alone, he might actually pass out. He knows the ghosts helped him, but it was terrifying. He doesn’t understand how they could touch Mr. Lee so suddenly.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Chan promises. “I’ll be right here with you.”

He makes the call while holding Hyunjin close. Hyunjin looks at the ghosts, all six of them standing or sitting around, looking about as rattled as he feels. Now he knows what happened to them. All the grisly, ugly details, and he wishes he didn’t. Wishes he could turn back time. He should never have given the old man time of day, should have forced him to leave.

But maybe he would just have attacked sooner, then. Maybe Chan wouldn’t have arrived. Maybe the ghosts wouldn’t have been able to find strength to stop him. Maybe-

“Hyunjin?”

He looks up. Chan has finished the call.

“They’ll get here as soon as they can. Said not to touch anything.”

Hyunjin just nods. He’s not going to touch the body with a ten-foot pole, so no worries there. Chan finally gets him to his feet, and they enter the bathroom, where he’s made to sit on the toilet seat cover as Chan finds a washcloth and helps him clean his face, then hands him a toothbrush while Chan himself goes to find him some new clothes. He brushes his teeth mechanically, getting up to spit, and then just stands there, staring at himself in the mirror.

He reaches a hand up, running his fingers over his throat. The marks are stark red and slightly swollen, wrapping around his throat like a necklace. He looks like a mess. Jesus.

Chan returns and doesn’t say anything about the marks, just helps him change into fresh pajamas and then leads him to the bedroom. The lights are turned on, which Hyunjin is grateful for. He sits down and Chan joins him, holding his hand. The contact is grounding.

“How… how did you know?”

It’s one of many burning questions Hyunjin has, but it’s probably the one answer that won’t give him a headache on top of the one already building, a pressure behind his eyes.

“Felix told me.” Chan replies.

Okay, no, this will definitely add to his headache.

“How?”

Hyunjin looks around, but doesn’t spot Felix anywhere. Changbin is present, holding Jisung in his arms. Jisung looks tired, faint around the edges. Apparently working up the power to physically touch must have been exhausting. Minho looks the same, when he glances over, sitting between Seungmin and Jeongin.

“He showed up in my room.” Chan’s expression is hard to read, and Hyunjin finds it best not to push. They’ll talk in due time when they don’t have a dead guy just down the stairs.

“Said you were in trouble. He sounded urgent and looked terrified, and I got in the truck and booked it here. A little too late, though.”

“I’m glad you showed up,” Hyunjin says, voice quiet, “I… I don’t know how I would… if you weren’t here right now, I…”

Fuck. He rubs both hands over his face, trying to wipe away the stray tears.

“I know.” Chan says, just as quiet. “We’ll deal with it.”

The sound of someone knocking reaches them, and Hyunjin tenses, fight or flight instincts kicking in, but Chan just rubs his arm soothingly.

“It’s the police,” he says, just as someone calls from downstairs, “hello? This is the Jeongseon police.”

Hyunjin tunes them out. Chan gives him a firm squeeze before getting up.

“I’m just going to talk to them.” he says.

Hyunjin nods and watches him leave, looking at the ghosts in the meantime. He doesn’t know if that makes him feel any better or not, but he needs to see _people_ , dead or otherwise. People who have never tried to hurt him.

When Chan returns, it’s with a police officer in tow. Chan sits down next to him, and the officer smiles kindly.

“Is it alright if I sit?” he asks.

Hyunjin just nods, and the man pulls the desk chair over and sits down on that. He’s holding a notebook.

“My name is Officer Kim. I know this must be difficult, but I need to ask you some questions about the body downstairs and the events surrounding it. We’ll keep it short. Does that sound alright?”

“I suppose so.” Hyunjin replies. It’s better to get it over with. He feels _exhausted_.

“My fellow officers are downstairs, securing the scene,” officer Kim continues, “they’ll need to go through the house. Why don’t you start telling me about yourself? Do you live here?”

“Yes,” Hyunjin begins, then pauses, “well, no. It’s my grandmother’s house. My name is Hwang Hyunjin. I’ve stayed here for a few weeks.”

“And where is your grandmother right now?” officer Kim asks, already noting down what he’s saying.

Hyunjin realizes how badly this must look. What if they think he pushed his grandmother after this?

“In the hospital. She, uhm. She fell down the stairs a few weeks ago.”

Officer Kim nods, looking up at him. “Okay. Have you been staying alone since then?”

“I stayed with Chan for a few days,” Hyunjin replies, glancing at Chan, who nods. “His family let me stay. I was scared to stay here on my own.”

“Okay. What can you tell me about what happened tonight?”

“I woke up in the middle of the night,” Hyunjin replies, “I don’t know what the time was.”

He has no idea how much time has passed since he went downstairs to find Mr. Lee in the kitchen. It could be an hour, or it could be more. Time sure tends to fly when you feel like you’re not in your own body.

“I heard thumps from downstairs. When I went to investigate, Mr. Lee was in the kitchen. He, uhm, he’s my grandmother’s gardener.”

“The man downstairs?” officer Kim clarifies, and Hyunjin nods.

“He said the door was unlocked, and that he wanted to check on me. I swore I locked the door, but… anyway, he, uhm, he asked for tea. Said he couldn’t sleep. Nightmares. I asked if he wanted to talk about it, but he didn’t. Said it would give me nightmares. He asked for more tea.”

Hyunjin doesn’t know what counts as important details or not, he just rambles. He wants to get this over with.

“He said he pushed her.” It hurts. An ache deep in his chest. “He said he pushed my grandma down the stairs.”

He blinks back tears, sniffling. The ghosts watch him quietly.

“He said she was going to sell the house. She never mentioned that to me, so I don’t know if it’s true, but he said… he said he couldn’t let her do that, because that would mean people would be digging around the property.”

“Why wouldn’t he want people to dig around the property?” officer Kim asks him, voice gentle, when Hyunjin falls quiet for too long. “Did he say?”

Hyunjin nods. “He did.”

His voice is a mere whisper.

“He said… he told me he’s killed people. He made me sit and listen as he… _confessed_ to murders.”

Officer Kim pauses in his writing. Chan looks shocked, eyes wide.

Hyunjin struggles with what to say, because thinking about everything Mr. Lee told him makes him want to be sick again.

“He… he, uh… six. Six of them. Said… god, I don’t want to say it, _please_ don’t make me say it.”

“Okay,” officer Kim says, “okay, not today. We have to question you further, but not tonight. Let’s just continue.”

Hyunjin nods, holding Chan’s hand so tightly it must hurt, but Chan doesn’t say anything, just stays a firm, comforting presence.

“He said he thought he was done, but then I arrived, and he… he wanted to do it again. I ran. I panicked. I couldn’t get the door open, the lock was jammed, or something. I was so _scared_.”

His heart beats faster just thinking about it, the same kind of fear seeping into his bones.

“He chased me. I tried to run up the stairs, but he caught me. I fell. He climbed on top of me and tried to- to choke me.” He absently reaches up to rub over his throat again. “I tried to scream. I tried to stop him, to hit him, but he wouldn’t stop- and then…”

He doesn’t know how to twist it so he avoids involving the ghosts. They’ll lock him up for sure if he starts raving about ghosts helping him.

“I think I pushed him too hard. I was freaking out, but suddenly he fell down the stairs. I heard a crack… I was sick in the hallway. I’m sorry your officers have to see that.”

Hyunjin has no idea why he feels like apologizing for that. It just seems like it might be an inconvenience, in all of this.

“It’s quite fine,” officer Kim reassures, “don’t worry about that.”

Hyunjin nods a little. “Chan arrived then. Helped me. Called you. Uhm, and then you arrived. I’m sorry, I… I kind of checked out, I don’t know.”

He drags a hand through his hair, feeling tired and brittle.

“It’s okay,” officer Kim says. “This helps a lot, thank you, Hyunjin. We’ll need to question you further, but for now we’ll continue securing the scene, and then we’ll give you a call tomorrow. May I note down your number?”

Hyunjin rattles it off on autopilot and officer Kim nods.

“Very well. I suggest you stay with your friend tonight, it might be best not to be in the house.”

“I don’t want to walk past him,” Hyunjin says, voice meek, “I don’t want to see-”

“How about I go have a look at how things are going, and I’ll give you a clear to go ahead when they’ve moved him?” officer Kim suggests. It sounds alright, and Hyunjin nods.

Officer Kim gets up and exits the room, and Chan immediately wraps Hyunjin in a hug.

“Shit. Shit, Hyunjin, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Hyunjin replies softly. “Never has been. He was… sick and twisted. He… I’m so sorry. Felix…”

Chan just shakes his head.

Hyunjin looks at the ghosts next, and they all look tired and upset as well.

“I’m sorry.” he says again.

“It’s not your fault.” Changbin says and rises to his feet, walking over. He looks sad. “I’m just sorry you got caught in it, too. We never realized he was the one. I couldn’t recognize him, or my head wouldn’t allow me to recall. I’m not sure which.”

“I wish I could take you with me to Chan’s house.” Hyunjin admits.

Changbin gives him the ghost of a smile.

“It’s okay. We’ll just be here until you come back.”

Hyunjin nods, glancing around the room again. Still no sign of Felix.

Changbin looks like he understands. “He’ll be back,” he promises. “He just exhausted himself reaching Chan.”

Hyunjin looks at Chan, who’s looking at Changbin with a frown.

“Chan?” he says softly.

“I really didn’t think ghosts are real,” Chan finally says, sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “This is going to take some time to get used to.”

“It’s the least crazy thing of everything that has happened tonight.” Hyunjin says and Chan just nods.

Changbin tilts his head, then reaches out to pat Hyunjin’s head. No physical touch. Just ice. He looks a little sad at that fact, but seems to compose himself quickly.

“Take care, Hyunjin. We’ll see you again soon.”

Officer Kim returns then, and they’re allowed to go after they take quick pictures of Hyunjin’s throat and the clothes he had been wearing, which they’ll take in as evidence. Hyunjin doesn’t know what kind of evidence they’re looking for other than puke, but he doesn’t really care at this point.

The body is gone, but there’s still blood on the floor. They step carefully around the markers and leave the house, getting into the truck. The drive is short, but feels like it takes forever, and then Chan pulls up in front of his house.

The door opens as they get out of the car, and Chan’s parents come out of the house, looking frazzled.

“Why did you leave in such a hurry?” his mom demands to know, worried. “You scared us! What has happened? Hyunjin?”

He looks up and she gasps, then softens, placing a warm hand against his cheek.

“Come on. Let us go inside.”

Hyunjin doesn’t recall much of what happens next, just that Chan’s parents are warm and comforting and give both him and Chan long, tight hugs.

“You’re just children, still,” Chan’s mom says at one point, running her hand through Chan’s hair. “You shouldn’t have to go through things like this.”

Hyunjin agrees, but it doesn’t seem like the rest of the world does.

☀

The next day dawns bleak and grey, drizzle falling from heavy clouds. Officer Kim calls him in the early afternoon, explaining that they’ve finished processing the house and that it will be cleaned some time during the day, and asking if he feels up for coming in to talk more about what Mr. Lee had told him.

Hyunjin very much does not. He still feels exhausted, having slept little and fitfully. His throat hurts, the marks around his throat darkening over time, and he’s a little hoarse. Chan looks little better, and Hyunjin gets it. He wishes none of this had happened.

Still, he says yes. He just wants it to be over. Officer Kim says they want to question Chan as well, so they can both come, and it helps a little to know he can have Chan with him, at least partly.

There is a small police station in the town, which Hyunjin thinks that Chan may have pointed out to him once, but he can’t remember it. It’s probably just a smaller branch of a main station, but it suits the purpose.

They drive there, and Chan’s parents insist to come with. It helps to have actual adults with them, because try as they might, they’re still barely adults themselves. Hyunjin feels very much like a kid when he walks through the doors. He wants his mom. He hasn’t called her, hasn’t told her about what happened yet, and he dreads it even more than he did when he had to talk about his grandmother’s accident.

Chan’s dad talks to the people at the front desk, and then they’re told to wait. Hyunjin tries his best to sit still, fiddling with the strings of the hoodie he’d apparently left at Chan’s house when he went back to his grandma’s. Chan is called in first, and his parents aren’t allowed to go with him. He returns after about ten minutes, offering a weak smile to the three of them.

“It wasn’t so bad,” he says, allowing his mom to hug him, “they just asked about how I knew to go there and stuff, and about the night of the Festival. I’m okay, mom.”

“I just worry.” she says, but stops fretting as much.

Hyunjin is called in next, and his hands are sweaty as he’s made to take a seat in a room. It doesn’t at all look like the movies. It’s actually a decent meeting room-like space, with large windows and a table with several chairs.

There are two officers inside, officer Kim and a woman, and the woman smiles at him.

“Hello, I’m officer Lee. I’ll be conducting your interview. You’ve already met officer Kim?”

Hyunjin nods, and she does as well.

“Can I offer you some water?”

He accepts, and she gets him a plastic cup with water from the water cooler, and then they begin.

They have to record the whole thing, but he doesn’t mind. It means he’ll hopefully not have to repeat any of this ever again. He understands why they need all the information, but it still sucks having to go through it again.

At least he manages to keep it somewhat together, at least until they start asking about Mr. Lee’s confession. His voice shakes as he tries to remember everything he was told – not that it’s easy to forget. The officers seem serious as they listen, and they let him go on uninterrupted, which helps.

Finally he stops, voice giving out, and he can’t make himself say anymore right away.

The two officers are quiet for a while, and then officer Lee sighs.

“We’ll be trying to figure out who these people are,” she says, and Hyunjin almost wishes he could tell her that he already knows, “I think I have an inkling to a few of them, but we’ll have to conduct an investigation properly. To be honest with you, Hyunjin, this is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”

“Tell me about it.” Hyunjin replies. She smiles slightly.

“We’ll need to look around the property,” she says, “look at all the places he mentioned. If there really are bodies there, then we’ll find them. Hopefully we can give peace to families who still don’t know anything about what happened to their loved ones.”

“Yeah, do whatever you want,” Hyunjin says, “it’s not my house, but… I think my grandma would say the same.”

Officer Lee nods.

“How is your grandma?” she asks, “is she getting better?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin nods, “we’re still waiting for her to wake up, but she is doing a lot better.”

“That’s good to hear,” officer Lee says, and she seems genuine, “I wish her a speedy recovery.”

They take a few more pictures of him, his throat and his skinned knee he had only realized he had that morning, as well as his right hand, where he’s bruised the knuckles. They finish the recording, and get ready to leave, but Hyunjin quickly blurts out a question that’s been on his forefront.

“Will… will I be arrested? For pushing him?”

Officer Lee purses her lips. “Most likely not,” she says eventually. “I can’t promise anything, of course, but it was clearly self-defense, and if we find bodies in the garden, then I’m confident nothing will happen to you. I think you can feel safe in that.”

He nods. It’s probably the best he can get, and he does feel a little better after hearing it.

He leaves the room and goes back to Chan and his parents. His mom pulls him into a long, warm hug, and then his dad hugs him next.

“Okay?” Chan asks him, hands in his pockets.

“I will be,” Hyunjin says, and Chan nods, smiling a little.

☀

He’s allowed to go back to the house the next day, with strict orders not to go looking in the garden. He doesn’t even think the thought, he’s just there to pick up some things and talk to the ghosts. Chan’s mom had told him he would stay with them, and he hadn’t refused.

Chan is with him, looking a little worried as he steps into the house. Changbin is already waiting for them, and Hyunjin lights up a little.

“Changbin.”

Chan quickly looks, and his face falls. “I can’t see him.”

“Oh.” Hyunjin says, glancing between them.

Changbin doesn’t look surprised. “I think he could only see us because of everything that happened that night. If he couldn’t see us before, he won’t be able to normally, I think.”

Hyunjin nods slowly. He’s disappointed. He had hoped Chan would be able to see them. See Felix. Speaking of…

“Is Felix back?”

Chan perks up. Changbin nods, looking over his shoulder.

“He’s upstairs. He’s still weak, but he’s back.”

Hyunjin looks at Chan and nods, and Chan sighs, shoulders slumping in relief.

“Good. I was worried… I’m glad. I hope I can talk to him, even if I can’t see him.”

“I’ll help.” Hyunjin promises.

They skirt around the place where Mr. Lee’s body had laid and head upstairs. Hyunjin tries not to look too closely at anything. Not towards the kitchen, because he still feels like he’ll see the man sitting at the kitchen table. Not the spot on the floor where his blood had spread. Not the spot on the top of the stairs where he’d vomited.

He only feels remotely safe when they enter the bedroom. All the ghosts are huddled on the bed. Seeing Felix relaxes him, and he smiles.

Felix tentatively returns it, then looks at Chan, expression falling when Chan doesn’t see him.

Hyunjin wishes he could somehow make them be able to see each other. It’s what they deserve, after everything that has happened. It would possibly give them the closure they need. They’ll have to try to make the best of it, but it won’t be the same.

They all shuffle to make space, and Hyunjin pulls Chan to sit.

“I’m probably gonna sound crazy,” he admits with a small smile. “You’ll have to bear with me. If they say anything to you, I’ll do my best to tell you.”

Chan just nods, looking a little worried. “Is it okay that I’m here?”

Hyunjin looks at the six of them. Minho scoffs. He still looks tired.

“We can’t exactly physically remove him,” he says, before his expression gentles somewhat. “Of course it’s okay. He’s Felix’ friend, and yours, Hyunjin. He can stay as long as he wants.”

The others nod and it’s a relief. He turns to Chan and nods.

“Of course. You’re welcome here as much as I am.”

Chan smiles at that, looking at where the ghosts should be sitting.

“Thank you. And, uhm, thank you for looking after Felix. I’m happy he has all of you with him.”

“This is getting soppy already,” Jisung says, but he wipes his eyes, trying not to be too obvious, “I hate it.”

Hyunjin laughs a little.

“They say you’re welcome.” he says. Chan looks pleased.

“We probably have a lot to talk about,” Changbin says, leading the conversation, which Hyunjin is grateful for. He nods in agreement. He doesn’t even know where to begin, in all honesty. They have to start somewhere, though, and there is one question that has been burning at the forefront of his mind.

“How were you able to touch him?”

Minho and Jisung look at each other.

“I’m not sure,” Minho finally says, “I think we were desperate. Do you remember the night your grandmother fell?”

Hyunjin nods. He can’t forget.

“Changbin managed to get through to your phone, because he desperately wanted to reach you and get you back here. You know how there are tales of the paranormal everywhere around the world, being able to interact with objects such as making phones ring. I guess this wasn’t any different.”

Minho pauses, considering his words carefully.

“When that man was attacking you… I remembered how it felt when he attacked me. I remembered the fear I felt back then, and I knew I needed to try and save you somehow. Any way I could. I tried to grab for him several times, but I only managed it at the end, when he was choking you.”

Hyunjin just listens without interrupting. It makes sense, in a way. He doesn’t know how ghosts work; he just knows what he saw at the time.

Jisung continues after Minho trails off. “I was just angry. Furious, honestly. This man was attacking you, hurting you. He had attacked and hurt all of us. Hearing him talking about killing us so casually, it infuriated me. How could he take our lives so easily?”

His hands shake, and Minho takes one of them in his own.

“I wanted him to hurt,” Jisung continues, voice quieter, “I wanted him to suffer. I don’t regret it.”

“I don’t blame you,” Hyunjin tells him. Jisung looks up, looking wary.

“You don’t?”

Hyunjin shakes his head. “No. I understand. I was… It scared me, at first. Seeing you attack him like that, seeing that you didn’t regret it, but after a while I understood. You saved me. You were hurting. He was an awful, _awful_ man. Maybe it’s wrong, but I’m happy he’s dead.”

Maybe he shouldn’t be admitting it, but it feels good to say it out loud, too. He doesn’t mourn Mr. Lee’s death in the slightest. Not after knowing what he’s done to these six boys.

Jisung looks less tense after that, and Hyunjin turns his head to look at Chan.

“Strong emotions,” he says, “it’s what enabled them to touch him. To manifest. It’s probably why you can no longer see them. It’s the same thing that happened when my grandma was attacked.”

Because that was what happened. Mr. Lee attacked her to keep his secret from being revealed, and then it didn’t even work out in the end. Hyunjin wonders that if Mr. Lee had succeeded, would anybody know? Or would he become just like the ghosts that surround him?

“That makes sense,” Chan says, scrunching his nose, “even if I’m having a hard time accepting that ghosts seem real in the first place. What is this, a horror story?”

“Is it horror if the ghosts are nice?” Hyunjin retorts.

Minho makes a face. “I will start haunting you in your sleep again.” he threatens.

“Mostly nice.” Hyunjin amends.

“I guess not.” Chan sighs. “This is going to give me a headache.”

They’re quiet for a moment while Hyunjin tries to address what’s next. There’s two ways it could go, but it needs to be said, anyway.

“Felix?”

Felix looks up quickly.

“How were you able to leave the house? You showed up at Chan’s place.”

Felix is silent for another minute, looking troubled. Chan has perked up and waits, fidgeting intently.

“I think the same way Minho and Jisung could attack the gardener,” he says. “Strong emotions. I thought… I needed to get help. While he was talking about what he had done to us, I knew I needed to find help. Just like I would have done if I was alive. And the only person I could think of was Chan. I kept hoping and thinking I needed to get to Chan somehow, I didn’t know how, just that I _had to_ , and then I was standing in his room.”

He sighs. “I wish I could have stayed and talked to him. He looked so shocked to see me.”

He looks towards Chan, chewing on his lip. “I wanted to stay and talk to you. I really did. I’m sorry that I couldn’t.”

Hyunjin swallows hard and tells Chan this. Chan’s expression dims.

“So am I,” he says. “I miss you.”

Felix offers a shake smile. “I miss you too.”

Hyunjin really wishes he could let the two of them have privacy to talk. He hates that he’s the only one who can see them. It’s not fair.

“He misses you too.” he says softly and Chan chuckles, looking away.

“Yeah.”

“I tried coming back to the house,” Felix says after a few seconds of silence. “I mean. I think I did? I’m not sure. I think getting to Chan’s place drained me. I just floated for a good long while. I only started manifesting again this morning.”

“Thank you for doing that,” Hyunjin tells him. “I don’t know what I would have done if Chan didn’t come here. I think you getting him saved me as much as Jisung and Minho getting rid of Mr. Lee.”

Felix smiles, and it seems genuine. “I’m glad.”

And then there’s what happens next. Hyunjin doesn’t know what it’ll mean for the ghosts if their bodies are found. Will they still be stuck? Will they disappear? He doesn’t think they’re aware of the plans to search the property, and he’s almost loath to tell them about it. But they deserve to know. It’s the least he can do, to warn them.

“The police want to go over the property,” he says finally, and it gets all their attention. “I told them what Mr. Lee said, and they want to search the grounds for bodies. Your bodies. See if they can finally bring your families some peace.”

“And if they find them?” Jeongin asks, frowning. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” Hyunjin admits. “It could mean anything. Or nothing. You could still be stuck here, or you might not. I don’t know.”

“If they can find my body and tell my family what happened to me, I think I’ll be okay with that,” Seungmin says after a while. “My parents are probably getting old these days, but- but I hope that knowing what happened to me will bring them some peace.”

“But if we stop existing here, what happens then?” Jeongin demands to know. “Will we still be together? I don’t want to be alone!”

“We can’t know what happens,” Changbin says, wrapping his arms around him to pull him close, “if we get to… move on, or whatever happens, we could probably still be together. You won’t be alone, Jeongin.”

“I’m scared.” Jeongin says, voice small. “I don’t want to be without you guys.”

Hyunjin thinks he gets it. They’ve been together for years at this point, and it must be scary not knowing what will happen to them. He wishes he could reassure them, but it’s impossible. There’s not much he could say to make it any better.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could know what would happen.”

“It’s alright.” Felix says, but he’s looking at Chan. “It’s probably for the best if we’re able to leave. I think that’s what’ll give the most peace to everyone. We can’t stay here forever, as much as we’d like to.”

Hyunjin nods a little. He looks at Chan, who’s looking down at his hands.

“Hey,” he says softly, “is there anything you want to say?”

Chan looks up, glancing to where the ghosts sit and then to Hyunjin.

“Could I talk to Felix?”

Felix nods quickly, eagerly.

Changbin sits up and starts herding the rest of the ghosts out.

“We’ll be around.” he promises, taking them with him even if some of them seem reluctant to move.

Hyunjin shifts, pulling Chan more to the middle of the bed before retreating further away, sitting down on the desk chair.

“They’re all gone now. Felix is right in front of you.”

“Oh.” Chan says, a little surprised. “Uhm. Felix? Hi.”

“Hi,” Felix says, nearly sounding shy. “I really did miss you.”

Hyunjin relays what he says, but otherwise doesn’t get involved. He doesn’t know how many times he wishes that they could communicate without him there, just so that they can have some privacy. Some things don’t miraculously fix themselves, apparently.

“I don’t know what happened the night you disappeared,” Chan says after a moment. “Part of me wants to know, but it’s better that I don’t, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Felix replies, expression sad. “Knowing won’t make it any better, Chan. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” Chan says quietly when Hyunjin tells him, “I know. I just… I don’t know.”

He drags a hand through his hair. “I wish I hadn’t let you go home alone that night. I wish I had walked you home. I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault you’re… you’re dead. God, it’s really true, isn’t it?”

He laughs wetly, wiping his cheeks. “I had hope you were just… missing. That you had run away. I think part of me always knew that wasn’t the case, but I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to believe you were safe and sound somewhere out in the world.”

“I think that’s natural,” Felix says. “Chan. I don’t blame you. It’s not your fault. It never was. If you had walked me home, maybe it would have been you in my place. Maybe it would have happened anyway, just at a later point. We can’t think of the what ifs, it doesn’t help. Just know it was _never_ your fault.”

He smiles a little. “I’m simply happy you’re safe. I want you to move on, Chan. Do what you always dreamed to do, and think of me when it helps to do so.”

“I don’t know how.” Chan admits.

“You’ll learn.” Felix replies. “I know you can. You don’t have to forget me; I’m not asking you to do that. I’m just asking you to remember me fondly, thinking about all the stupid shit we got into. It’s going to be okay.”

Chan sobs, covering his face. Felix smiles, even if he’s crying too.

He reaches back and undoes his necklace, holding it in his hand, thumb rubbing over the stars. He looks at Hyunjin, who offers a smile, even if he’s near tears too.

“Hold out your hand.” Felix tells Chan, and Hyunjin repeats it.

Chan wipes at his face with his sleeve, sniffling, and holds his hand out. “Why?”

Felix covers his hands with both of his own. Chan jumps, staring in shock, and when Felix pulls his hands away, the necklace lies cradled in Chan’s palm. He closes his fingers around it, looking up in bewilderment.

“How?”

“Just a feeling,” Felix says. “Keep it.”

Chan nods a little and then puts it on, tucking it against his chest.

Felix sighs and smiles. “I really will miss you. But I want you to be happy. It’s my last wish.”

“I’ll try.” Chan says, and Felix grins.

“It’s all I ask.”

☀

It takes a few days before the work to search the property starts. Hyunjin tries to spend as much time with the ghosts as he can, wanting to see them a few more times just in case they end up disappearing. Somehow, he feels it deep inside that that is what’ll happen, and it hurts.

Chan doesn’t come with him. He’s made his peace, he says, and Hyunjin doesn’t want to ask any more of him.

He goes home to Chan’s house every night, and tries to spend time with him as well, and his parents. Hyunjin doesn’t know why, but he feels like his stay in this town is slowly coming to an end, as well. He’s been here a lot longer than originally intended, and he knows his mom wants him to come home.

Telling her what had happened had been rough. She’d been both shocked and worried and angry, and practically demanded he come home. Hyunjin had refused. It’s not that he doesn’t want to go home, because there’s nothing he craves as much as he craves a hug from her, but he needs to stay for a little longer. His grandmother is still in the hospital, after all, and though he can’t tell her, it’s also because of the ghosts.

He doesn’t expect it at all when the hospital calls one morning to tell him that his grandmother has woken up. It was only for a short while, but she did wake up, she responded to them, and that means she’ll be alright.

Hyunjin cries when he hears it. Chan looks instantly worried, and Hyunjin babbles as he thanks the hospital and says he’ll come visit as soon as he can, and hangs up.

“What happened?” Chan asks, reaching out. “Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

“No, she’s okay,” Hyunjin gasps, laughing, “she woke up.”

Chan looks surprised at first, but then he’s laughing too.

“Holy shit,” Hyunjin says, struggling to process. “She woke up. Shit. I need to go see her. Shit, okay. How do I-”

“We’ll go,” Chan says, smiling. “I need to tell my parents, shit. Okay, hang on.”

He rushes downstairs, and Hyunjin follows.

It’s just Chan’s mom who’s home, his dad at work in the city, but she’s elated by the news and there’s a lot of hugging for a while.

She wants to come with, and Hyunjin isn’t about to deny her, all three of them excited and nervous as they drive to the city. It’s a journey they’ve done so many times by now, and Hyunjin feels like he knows the road like the back of his hand by this point. It still feels like it takes forever.

Reaching the hospital, they ask for his grandma, and are shown to the room she’s been occupying for the past few weeks. A nurse stops them before they can go in.

“She’s still weak,” the nurse explains to them, “she might sleep while you’re here, and you need to keep your voices down. She can’t speak quite yet, but the doctors are fairly sure she’ll be okay. Don’t be scared by all the instruments around her, okay? They’re just there to help.”

Hyunjin nods, practically vibrating with the need to go in and see her. The room is mostly quiet when they walk in. There’s the sound of the various machines and instruments working, but it’s mostly background noise.

His grandma does look like she’s sleeping. He approaches, sitting down in the chair by her bed, and reaches out to take her hand in his.

“Hi, grams,” he says softly. “I’m here. Chan and Mrs. Bang are here too, they really wanted to see you. I’m so happy to hear you woke up.”

The two of them also approach, Chan making his mom sit in the other chair while he stands just behind them.

“Hi, Grandma Hwang,” Chan says, and his mom smiles and greets her as well. “Hi, Eunkyung.”

They look at her, and Hyunjin is a little nervous, even knowing she’s going to be fine. She won’t be returning home for weeks, maybe months. He wants to tell her about everything that has happened so far. Maybe when she’s stronger. She deserves to know.

They sit there for a little while, quietly talking, and Hyunjin jumps when he realizes his grandma has opened her eyes.

He quickly leans forward a little.

“Grandma?”

She looks around and then her eyes settle on him. For a horrible moment he thinks she doesn’t recognize him, but then her eyes crinkle slightly as she attempts to smile.

He smiles back, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

“Hi, grams. I’m here.”

Her hand twitches, fingers squeezing around his for a brief moment, but it’s all he needs.

“I missed you. I’m so happy to see you awake.”

She smiles still, closing her eyes again, but her hand is warm and firm in his. Maybe things really will be alright.

☀

The work of searching the property starts the day after, and Hyunjin isn’t allowed to return at all in the time it takes to go through everything. They might have to dig into the foundations of the very house, too, but he hopes it doesn’t come to that. He doesn’t think there are any bodies there, anyway. The house has been standing for too long for that to be a possibility.

He and Chan try to distract each other while they wait, doing possibly everything else but get near the house. They head down to the river at the opposite end of the town, spending time tossing stones and messing about, not once talking about ghosts or missing boys or the what ifs.

The officers have promised to call when they’re done, so there’s little Hyunjin can do except wait. He had been to the house the evening previous, doing his best to say goodbye to them. It had been painful. Jeongin still doesn’t want to go, scared of the future, and Minho had seemed bitter the whole time. Changbin, Seungmin, Felix and Jisung had seemed more ready to accept whatever would happen, but Hyunjin knows it must be hard on them.

He didn’t know what to say, when he was getting ready to leave. Had just looked at them for the longest time, trying to imprint their faces to memory.

“I’m really happy I got to meet all of you,” he said, “even if you scared me at first, I’ll treasure all the memories I got with you. Thank you for being my friends.”

“I’m really happy we got to meet you too.” Jeongin had said, all the while still looking upset. “You’re really nice. It’s good to know there are nice people out there too.”

Hyunjin could just smile. He had hugged them to the best of the ability, the usually chilly feeling of them not feeling so bad this time. He hadn’t been able to say goodbye when he left, just waved at them, and then carefully shut and locked the door.

He’s ready for whatever comes next. He hopes they are too. Hopes they’re not afraid as they stay in the house, waiting and watching people comb the garden for their bodies. It’s grim. He doesn’t know how he’d react if he had to watch someone searching for his bones.

Hyunjin shakes his head a little at himself. It doesn’t help to think these kinds of thoughts.

Instead he jogs to catch up to Chan, who’s gone further ahead.

“I think it might snow.” Chan says, head tilted back to look up at the sky.

Hyunjin frowns, tilting his head up as well. “Snow? It’s September.”

“It sometimes does,” Chan replies and shrugs, hands shoved into his pockets. “They tend to say that if it snows early, crops will grow all the better next spring.”

“Sounds like bullshit.” Hyunjin says, shaking his head, and Chan laughs quietly.

“Yeah, it kinda does, doesn’t it? I don’t know. I guess people just tend to tell themselves these things to see if it makes them feel better.”

“I mean, autumn did seem to come faster here than it does back home,” Hyunjin says after a moment. “Maybe there’s something to it.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Chan sighs, breath visible in the cold, and lowers his head, looking back the way they’d come. “Wanna head back? Mom doesn’t want us to be gone too long.”

Hyunjin just nods, and they slowly start walking back towards town.

“I’ve been thinking,” Chan says eventually. “I mean, there hasn’t been a lot of time to, but in the few moments I’ve could, I’ve been thinking.”

“About?”

“What Felix said.” Chan’s expression twists briefly, before he smiles. “Maybe I should try to apply to school next year. There’s a bunch of good ones in Seoul, or so I’ve heard.”

“Yeah?” Hyunjin raises both eyebrows. “You’d want to move all the way to Seoul?”

“You might have to help show me around,” Chan admits, “but yeah. It doesn’t sound so bad. I’ll have to talk it over with my parents and I haven’t fully decided yet, but it’s a possibility.”

“I’d be happy to help you out, if you do come,” Hyunjin says eagerly. “I’d love to show you around. There’s a lot to experience.”

“I might get scared and run all the way back home,” Chan says with a laugh. “It seems so big.”

“It’s not so bad.” Hyunjin replies, lightly nudging him. “You have me.”

“Yeah,” He nods, seeming genuine, “I’ve got you. And you’ve got me.”

It’s all Hyunjin can ask for, and honestly? He’s happy with that.

☀

The police work through the day and night for almost three days before Hyunjin hears anything. They call him while he’s trying to read through some of Chan’s books, but he’s struggling to concentrate, and he jumps and drops the book in his hands when his phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Hyunjin? This is Officer Kim.”

Hyunjin’s heart immediately starts beating faster, and he clenches his fingers around the phone. “Yeah, it’s Hyunjin. What is it?”

“We’ve finished our work, for the most part,” officer Kim relays, “you’re free to return to the house.”

“And?” Hyunjin breathes. “What did you find?”

Officer Kim is silent for a minute.

“I’m not really allowed to say,” he says slowly, “but… I can confirm our suspicions were right.”

Hyunjin closes his eyes. They found them.

“We’re notifying families at the moment. Are you still staying in town?”

“Probably for a few more days,” Hyunjin replies, “I wanted to stay until all of this was solved, if possible.”

“Alright. We might call you again. Until then, you’re free to be in the house. The garden is messed up, though, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I don’t really care for the garden much, to be honest with you.” Hyunjin says with a small smile, and officer Kim chuckles.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t either. Until next time, Hyunjin.”

“Thank you, officer Kim.”

He hangs up and sighs. Shit. Okay. So it really was true.

He stares up at the ceiling for a long time, before bracing himself. Now he just needs to go see if the ghosts are still there. He dreads it, a little. What if they still are? What if this solved nothing?

He gets up from the bed and trudges downstairs, to where Chan is helping his mom cook dinner.

“Chan? Mrs. Bang?”

Both of them look up. Chan’s mom immediately looks concerned.

“What is it, Hyunjin?”

“They called,” Hyunjin says, waving the phone a little. “They finished the work on the property.”

The two of them are silent for a moment.

“And…?” Chan finally says, almost reluctantly.

Hyunjin just nods. “They found them.”

“Shit.” Chan drops down into a chair. “Okay.”

His mom puts a hand on his back, gently rubbing up and down. “I’m sorry, Chan.”

“It’s okay.” Chan shakes his head slightly. “It’s… it’s good news, really. Now we know what happened to Felix.”

Chan’s mom nods a little. “I’ll call his parents later,” she says. “Once I’m sure they’ve been told and have been given some time to process.”

Hyunjin hasn’t met Felix’ parents, and he’s not sure if he wants to, either. It’s probably best he doesn’t. They’ve got enough on their plate, finding out what has happened to their son. He still feels guilty for having known for so long and not even thought about trying to tell them somehow. It’s not like they would have believed it, but that doesn’t lessen the guilt any.

After dinner, Chan pulls Hyunjin with him into the hallway.

“Do you want to go?”

Hyunjin nods. “I have to. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, that’s okay.”

Chan shakes his head, looking determined. “No, I want to. I need to.”

Hyunjin nods, and Chan quickly ducks back into the kitchen.

“We’re heading over to pick up some stuff for Hyunjin, now that they’ve finished,” he says. “We’ll be back later tonight.”

“Drive safely,” his dad says, “don’t be home too late, okay? We’ll wait up for you.”

Chan comes back, grabbing the truck keys, and they pull their jackets and shoes on and head out to the truck.

It did start snowing, and it’s covering the ground in a fine layer of white. Chan takes the drive slow, and neither of them say anything as they approach the house.

Hyunjin pushes the gates open. It’s hard to see much in the dark, but the gardens look like a mess even like this.

“Good riddance.” he mutters, and they walk up to the house.

He unlocks the door and pushes it open, and they step into the entryway and just stand there for a long moment.

The air is still, much stiller than usual. Deep inside he knows they’re gone, but he still starts to look.

“Changbin?” he calls, ducking into the living room. “Jisung?”

He goes from room to room, the kitchen, the downstairs bathroom, and then upstairs.

“Jeongin? Minho?”

The upstairs bathroom is empty, so is the office and his grandma’s bedroom, and finally he opens his own room.

“Seungmin? Felix?”

Nothing. There’s nothing.

His chest hurts.

Chan comes up the stairs and into the room after him. He takes a look at Hyunjin and his shoulders slump.

“They’re gone, huh?”

Hyunjin just nods.

Chan lets out a long breath.

“Okay.”

☀

They stay in the house for a while. Hyunjin packs all his things with Chan’s help. He’s decided he’s not coming back here. There’s nothing to come back to, anymore. They clear out the fridge for any perishables, and turn off the heating and electricity. His grandma won’t be back for a long time either, so it’s better to turn it all off until she does.

They don’t talk about the ghosts. Neither of them want to rip open the wounds.

“Are you sure?” Chan asks him when they’re finally back in the entryway.

They’ve already stored most of his things in the truck, not that there was a lot to begin with.

“I’m sure.” Hyunjin nods. He takes one last, long look around the house, and then they walk outside. He locks the door again, tucking the key beneath the planter just outside the door.

“Thank you,” he says, putting a hand on the door. “I’m sorry.”

☀

Hyunjin goes back to Seoul a week later. He hugs Chan’s parents for a long time, thanking them over and over for looking after him and helping him when he needed it.

“You’re welcome here any time.” Mrs. Bang says, a warm, comforting presence as she looks up at him. “We’re just a call away.”

Chan drives him to the train station. It feels like it’s been a year since he was here last, not just two months. The train isn’t set to arrive for another fifteen minutes, so they wait in the truck. It’s too cold for anything else.

“You have to text me when you get back,” Chan tells him. “Like, right away. And then I’ll let you know what I decide as soon as I’ve… actually decided it.”

He grins, rubbing his neck.

Hyunjin just laughs. “Of course. You’re welcome to come visit me any time too, you know? Even if you don’t decide to move to Seoul.”

Chan nods. “I’ll take you up on that,” he says. “It could be fun.”

The train is set to approach in five minutes when Chan takes a deep breath and reaches back, unclasping one of the necklaces and holding it out. It’s Felix’, constellations twinkling in the overhead light.

Hyunjin looks at him in confusion.

“You should have it,” Chan says. “I know Felix told me to keep it, but I think you should have it. I still have this.”

He pats the sun necklace.

“Are you sure?” Hyunjin asks him, still surprised, but also touched and a little bit sad. “I don’t want to take away your memory of him.”

“You won’t,” Chan promises, “I’m sure. I know he wouldn’t mind.”

Hyunjin finally nods and takes it, putting it on, then holds the pendant up to look at it.

“I never asked what kind of constellation this is,” he says.

Chan smiles at him.

“Cygnus. The Swan.”

Hyunjin looks at him in confusion, and Chan grins.

“Look it up when you get home.”

The train approaches then, and they quickly get out and grab Hyunjin’s things, then walk onto the platform. As the train pulls up, Chan pulls him into a long, tight hug.

“Thank you. For everything. I won’t ever forget what you’ve done for me.” he says softly.

Hyunjin shakes his head, pulling back to smile at him. “Thank _you_. I’ll see you again soon.”

He boards the train and finds his seat, waving at Chan through the window. Chan waves back, and Hyunjin cranes his head as much as he can manage, watching Chan get smaller and smaller, until they round a bend and he’s gone from sight.

He settles back into his seat with a sigh.

It’s a good time to go home.

**Author's Note:**

> _Cygnus: the Greeks associated this constellation with the tragic story of Phaethon, the son of Helios the sun god, who demanded to ride his father's sun chariot for a day. Phaethon, however, was unable to control the reins, forcing Zeus to destroy the chariot with a thunderbolt, causing it to plummet to the earth into the river Eridanus. According to the myth, Phaethon's close friend or lover, Cygnus, grieved bitterly and spent many days diving into the river to collect Phaethon's bones to give him a proper burial. The gods were so touched by Cygnus's devotion that they turned him into a swan and placed him among the stars._
> 
> and there it comes to an end! i still hardly believe i managed it. there are many takes on the story of cygnus, but the above is my favorite and felt fitting to this story, with the sun and stars theme. if you made it to the end i'm super grateful you've taken the time to read!
> 
> some notes to the story:  
> jeongseon station is a real train station in the gangwon region of south korea. the town this story takes place in is made up though and intentionally kept vague. i had a pretty clear outline of how i wanted this fic to go when i started writing it, and i mostly stuck to my plans, though things tend to branch out unexpectedly, which also happened a few times throughout.
> 
> if there are any characters that resemble real life people (other than skz) then this is completely unintentional. chan and hyunjin's family lives are also made up, as i don't know anything about their families. this is a work of fiction.


End file.
